T^  T  B  II  A  11  Y 

111'   n I K 

Theological    Seminary, 

PRINCETON,     N.    J. 

(  W.9r  D  i  V  i  s  J  0  n  JQ.  >P.  .1.  A<  .(^.  y^- 

'S/"/j  Section. G-ST.l 

^""^'  No^..., 


^    • 


COMMENTARY 


THE    PENTATEUCH. 


'foiislntrii  from  tljB  itrinnii  nf 
OTTO    VON    GERLACH. 


REV.    HENRY    DOWNING, 

IKCUMBKKT    OF    ST.    MARY'S,    KINGSWIKFORD. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
SMITH,     ENGLISH     &     C  O. 

EDINBURGH:  T.  &  T.  CLAKK. 
1860. 


PEEFACE. 


The  life  of  tlie  author  of  the  following  "  Bible  work,"  as  it  is 
called,  or  explanation  of  the  Bible,  offers  very  little  that  will  be 
interestino;  to  the  general  reader.  It  was  not,  in  the  usual  sense 
of  the  word,  at  all  an  eventful  life,  being  that  of  a  studious  hard- 
workincp  German  Pastor  in  Berlin. 

Otto  Von  Gerlach  was  born  in  that  capital  in  1801.  His 
mother  belonged  to  the  family  of  Von  Kaumer.  His  father's 
family  originally  came  from  Pomerania.  For  three  generations 
his  ancestors  had  held  offices  under  government.  Otto  was  the 
youngest  of  four.  He  studied  at  the  Universities  of  Berlin, 
Heidelberg,  and  Gottingen,  as  it  is  usual  in  Germany  for 
students  to  attend  more  than  one  university.  For  some  time 
the  study  of  jurisprudence  engaged  Von  Gerlach's  attention  ; 
but,  after  a  while,  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  theology.  He 
attended  the  lectures  of  Schleiermacher,  then  in  the  zenith  of 
his  influence,  and  also  of  Neander,  Marheineke,  and  Hcngsten- 
berg.  After  the  completion  of  his  university  studies,  he  hesi- 
tated whether  he  should  follow  the  vocation  of  a  professor,  or 
that  of  a  parochial  clergyman.  He  determined  on  the  latter, 
though  he  delivered  some  lectures  in  Berlin  on  ecclesiastical  law 
and  history,  and  on  the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  His  publi- 
cation in  Germany  of  a  translation  of  Baxters  "  Saints'  Best'' 
and  "Reformed  Pastor,"  had  attracted  to  him  the  attention  of 
the  King.  He  was  ordained  in  1835,  and  aj)pointcd  to  the 
lately  consecrated  Elizabeth  Church.  In  this  post  he  remained, 
devoting  himself  indefatigably  to  his  pastoral  duties  and  to  study, 


IV  TREFACE. 

until  1847,  when  he  was  nominated  Preacher  at  the  Dom 
(Cathedral).  In  1819  the  third  portion  of  his  work  on  the 
Holy  Scriptures  appeared.  He  had  devoted  great  part  of  his 
life  to  its  preparation  ;  but  he  did  not  survive  to  complete  it. 
He  died  in  tlie  October  of  the  same  year. 

This  Scripture  Commentary  bears  a  high  character  in  its  own 
country.  It  has  passed  through  several  editions,  and  is  regarded 
as  a  standard  work  of  its  kind.  The  notes  of  Von  Gerlach  can- 
not be  called  learned.  They  do  not  make  pretension  to  such  a 
character.  The  work  is  rather  of  a  popular  than  a  scientific 
caste.  It  is  intended  to  help  towards  the  profitable  devout  read- 
ing of  Holy  Scripture  ;  and  the  author  of  the  annotations  never 
loses  sight  of  the  practical  application  of  the  text,  and  yet  the 
notes  will  be  found  to  condense  a  great  amount  of  Scriptural 
knowledge,  as  a  patient  reader  who  will  examine  them  carefully 
is  sure  to  find.  The  general  meaning  and  bearing  of  different 
passages  are  usually  explained  with  sufficient  fulness. 

The  portion  of  the  work  chosen  for  translation  is  the  Penta- 
teuch, which  has  been  selected  chiefly  because  commentaries  in 
English  on  this  part  of  Scripture  are  less  accessible  than  on 
other  books  of  the  Bible.  Should  the  present  translation  of  the 
notes  on  the  Book  of  Moses  be  considered  useful,  a  version  of 
those  on  the  Minor  Prophets  will  next  appear.  These  latter 
deal  rather  more  in  explanation  than  those  on  the  Pentateuch  ; 
but,  it  is  believed,  few  will  use  the  notes  of  Von  Gerlach  in  their 
study  of  the  Bible,  without  finding  their  knowledge  of  God's 
word  enlarged. 

The  Translator  may  be  allowed  to  add,  as  some  proof  of  the 
estimation  in  which  tlie  work  is  held  by  Germans  themselves, 
that  Professor  Ranke  recommended  it  to  him  as  a  Bible  com- 
mentary which  deserved  to  be  better  known  by  all  educated 
Englishmen. 

December  1859. 


INTRODUCTION 


SCRIPTUEES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT, 


MORE   P^UITICUL^VRLY  TO 


THE    BOOKS    OF    MOSES. 


The  belief  in  a  reclemption  of  mankind,  which  is  the  soul  and 
support  of  the  Christian  Church,  must  have  its  essential  origin  in 
a  revelation  of  the  Divine  love  and  wisdom.  The  invisible  ex- 
istence of  God,  "  His  eternal  power  and  godhead,"  so  far  as  man 
can  have  a  conception  thereof,  may  indeed  be  seen  from  His 
works  ;  but  the  mirror  of  the  Divine  image  in  the  human  soul, 
which  had  been  marred  by  sin,  had  not  the  power  of  reflecting 
Avith  clearness  the  illumination  which  had  been  received  from 
thence.  As  the  Divine  life  is  the  light  of  His  creatures,  so  was 
there  needed  some  working  on  God's  part,  which  should  renew, 
awaken,  strengthen,  as  well  as  enlighten  the  whole  man,  in  order 
to  lead  him  back  to  his  sublimely  exalted  destiny.  This  work  on 
God's  part  is  Revelation, — a  history  of  God's  doings  for  man's  re- 
demption from  the  very  beginning  of  the  human  race  to  its  com- 
pletion,— a  history  which,  the  farther  it  proceeds,  shall  in  the 
same  proportion  explain  itself  by  the  Word  which  accompanies 


2  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 

it.  It  shows  us  how  the  condescension  of  God  vouchsafed,  from 
the  very  beginning,  to  deal  with  man  after  a  manner  intelhgible 
to  man ;  to  speak  to  him  after  a  human  fashion ;  and,  while  it 
appeared  to  single  out  some  individuals  for  preference,  and  to  be 
completel}^  occupied  in  some  particular  portion  above  the  rest, 
nevertheless  kept  in  view  the  grand  connection  by  which  each 
portion  was  united  in  one  majestic  whole. 

But  what  God  had  done  for  man,  and  spoken  to  him,  needed 
abiding  record  in  Scripture  in  order  to  be  retained  by  man. 
Had  God's  almighty  power  redeemed  a  people  from  the  dark- 
ness and  bondage  of  Egyptian  heathenism,  and  then  by  His  law 
united  that  people  into  one  community, — had  Christ  enlightened 
His  disciples,  and  sent  them  out  into  the  world  to  preach  His 
Gospel,  and  to  found  His  Church,  without  affording  the  written 
witness  of  His  will  and  love  in  a  Law  and  a  Gospel — then,  indeed, 
must  God's  people  and  kingdom  on  earth  have  been  deprived  of 
His  immediate  guidance.  The  Church  might  be  established 
without  the  written  Word ;  but  it  could  not  continue  in  exist- 
ence without  the  ever  pure  and  fresh  life-giving  stream  of  that 
Word. 

Accordingly,  the  Lord  Himself  wrote  the  Ten  Commandments 
on  tables  of  stone,  and  Moses  collected  all  the  memorable  events 
and  laws  in  a  Book,  which  was  laid  up  "  in  the  side  of  the  ark 
of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord"  {vide  Deut.  xxxi.  26).  We  find, 
at  a  later  period,  that  Joshua  added  the  history  of  his  own  life  to 
the  Book  of  the  Law  (vide  Joshua  xxiv.  2  6)  ;  that  Samuel  laid 
up  "  before  the  Lord,"  for  preservation,  a  description  of  the  privi- 
leges of  the  kingdom  (1  Sam.  x.  25)  ;  that  one  of  the  greatest 
of  the  prophets,  Isaiah  (chap,  xxxi  v.  16),  even  laid  an  injunction 
on  his  descendants,  that  they  should  read  in  the  "  Book  of  the 
Lord  "  his  own  prophecies.  We  find  that,  after  a  long  period  of 
national  degradation  under  kings  and  priests,  the  Book  of  the 
Covenant  was  discovered  in  the  House  of  the  Lord,  in  the  days 
of  Josiah,  2  Kings  xxiii.  2.  Thus  were  the  laws,  the  histories, 
and  the  prophecies,  that  had  been  divinely  attested,  already  in 
ancient  times  laid  up  for  preservation  in  the  Sanctuary,  where, 
indeed,  they  often  remained  closed,  an  unvalued  treasure ;  still 
they  had  from  time  to  time  a  reviving  and  renovating  effect  on 
the  Church  of  God.  When  the  people  returned  from  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  and  in  mournful  days  set  to  work  to  re-establish 


SCEIPTUTIES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  3 

themselves  in  their  own  land,  at  the  outset  the  propliets  of  the 
Old  Covenant  were  still  at  hand  to  uroe  on  these  tardy  Israel- 
ites to  rebuild  the  Temple,  and  to  restore  the  ordinances  and 
statutes  of  the  Lord,  to  restrain  them  from  contamination  with 
heathen  corruptions.  But  in  the  Sanctuary  the  "  ark  of  the 
covenant"  was  no  longer  ;  the  High  Priest  was  deprived  of  the 
"  light  and  righteousness"  from  the  Lord.  During  the  Capti- 
vity the  great  body  of  tlic  people  had  exchanged  the  Hebrew 
language  for  the  Chaldee.  They  could  not  understand  their  own 
Scriptures  without  interpretation,  and  the  Spirit  of  prophecy 
soon  vanished  from  among  them.  In  this  period  were  the  men 
of  God,  who  built  up  again  the  fallen  Zion,  anxiously  occupied 
in  collecting  the  Sacred  Writings,  and  establishing  their  hold  on 
the  people.  In  the  days  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  was  the  collec- 
tion of  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament  made,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  body  of  pious  scribes,  or  men  learned  in  Scripture,  to 
whom  Jewish  tradition  of  a  later  period  gave  the  name  of  "  tlie 
Great  Synagogue."  About  that  time  gradually  were  established 
in  all  the  greater,  and  even  smaller  places,  schools,  or  syna- 
gogues, for  the  purpose  of  keeping  alive  among  the  people  a 
knowledge  of  the  law ;  so  that,  since  that  time,  "  Moses  had  in 
every  city  them  that  preached  him,  being  read  in  the  synagogues 
every  Sabbath  day:"  Acts  xv.  21.  At  first  the  Law,  afterwards 
the  Prophets  also  to  the  end,  were  divided  into  separate  portions. 
A  variety  of  Chaldee  translations  and  paraphrases  made  the 
Jews  Avho  lived  in  Palestine  acquainted  with  the  Word  of  God 
in  their  own  tongue  ;  and  the  same  benefit  was  conferred  on  the 
Greek-speaking  Jews,  by  means  of  the  Greek  translation  of  the 
Seventy,  which  was  gradually  completed,  under  the  Ptolemies  in 
Egypt,  about  the  third  century  before  Christ.  This  was  tlie 
time,  too,  when  a  clear  definite  conception  of  the  meaning  of  the 
Old  Covenant  taught  the  distinction  to  be  drawn  between  the 
Word  Avhich  was  really  given  by  the  Lord  Himself,  and  that 
which,  though  written  with  a  good  religious  purpose,  was  still  the 
word  of  man.  We  gather  from  the  history  of  the  time  of  the 
jNIaccabees,  that  the  people,  under  the  guidance  of  gifted,  pious 
men,  were  animated  to  marvellous  deeds  of  heroism  in  defence 
of  their  law — restored  the  Sanctuary  and  the  ordinances  of  God's 
Word  with  carefulness ;  but  we  meet  in  these  times  with  the 
clearest  proofs  that  then  no  prophet  existed  in  Israel,  as  for  a  long 


4  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 

time  none  had  arisen  (1  Mace.  iv.  46,  ch.  ix.  27,  eh.  xiv.  4).  The 
grandson  of  Jesus  Sirach,  who  lived  before  this  period,  and  wlio 
translated  into  Greek  his  grandfather's  book,  speaks  in  the  pre- 
face to  it  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  of  a  collection  already  con- 
cluded. He  is  acquainted  with  the  customary  division  into  "  the 
Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  other  Writings,"  which  still  exists 
among  the  Jews.  The  collection  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was,  accordingly,  distinctly  separated  from  everything  which 
emanated  from  the  reviving  Jewish  literature,  whether  consist- 
ing of  histories  of  the  period  (as  the  Books  of  the  Maccabees),  or 
of  allegories  (Judith  and  Tobit),  or  of  other  instructive  writ- 
ings, which  either  followed  the  pattern  of  the  Old  Testament  (as 
Ecclesiasticus),  or  copied  the  manner  of  the  Hellenist  Jews,  as  in 
the  Book  of  Wisdom, 

The  original  division,  therefore,  of  the  collected  writings  of 
the  Old  Testament,  as  it  existed  in  the  time  of  Christ  and  the 
apostles,  viz.,  into  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  other  Scrip- 
tures, is  still  the  customary  one  among  the  Jews  of  this  day, 
and  is  found  in  our  Hebrew  Bibles.  The  name  "the  Law" 
(Thorah,  i.  e.,  instruction,  teaching)  comprises  often  the  whole 
of  the  Old  Revelation,  but  in  the  more  precise  division  signifies 
only  the  five  Books  of  Moses.  These  books,  in  the  time  of  the 
Old  Covenant,  were  esteemed  the  more  especial  foundation  of 
the  whole  Divine  revelation  ;  and  all  the  posterior  histories  and 
prophecies  were  either  built  upon  them,  or  had  immediate  rela- 
tion to  them.  The  second  division  of  the  Prophets  (Nebiim)  is 
subdivided  into  the  "  Earlier  and  Later  Prophets."  To  the  first 
of  these  subdivisions  belong  the  historical  books,  Joshua,  Judges, 
Samuel,  Kings ;  to  the  latter,  the  first  three  prophets,  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  the  twelve  minor  prophets.  The  histo- 
rical books  are  reckoned  among  the  "  Prophets,"  for  this  reason, 
that  their  authors,  according  to  the  generally  received  opinion, 
were  esteemed  prophets  by  virtue  of  their  office  and  position 
among  God's  people.  The  third  division  of  the  Scriptures 
(Kethubim)  comprises  all  the  remaining  sacred  books,  whose 
authors  either  Avere  not,  strictly  speaking,  "  prophets"  (however 
high  they  stood  as  servants  of  God,  and  however  much  they 
were  under  the  guidance  of  His  Holy  Spirit),  or  writings  which, 
by  reason  of  the  nature  of  their  contents,  were  properly  classed 
under  other  heads  of  these  last  divisions  ;  as,  for  example,  the 


SCRIPTURES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAJNIENT.  5 

Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  were  classed  under  the  same  head 
with  the  Psahiis.  The  old  order  of  the  writino;s  of  this  division 
is  as  follows  :  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Job,  the  Song  of  Solomon,  liuth. 
Lamentations,  Ecclesiastes,  Esther,  Daniel,  Ezra,  iSehemiah, 
Chronicles.  This  is  the  order  of  the  sacred  writings  as  it  existed 
in  the  time  of  Christ  and  His  apostles.  All  the  books  of  the 
first  two  divisions  are  written  in  Hebrew,  but  a  part  of  Daniel 
and  of  Ezra  is  in  Chaldee.  Not  one  of  these  writings  was 
wanting  in  the  collection  in  the  time  of  Christ.  They  are  all 
regarded  as  sacred  by  the  Jews.  Christ  Himself  both  quoted 
them  as  the  Word  of  God,  and  expounded  them  to  His  disciples. 
They  have  therefore  a  claim  on  all  Christians  to  be  received 
as  sacred  and  inspired ;  and,  in  respect  to  their  origin,  stand 
on  the  same  footing  with  the  books  of  the  New  Testament ;  at 
the  same  time,  as  regards  the  character  of  their  contents,  they 
are  composed  with  reference  to  the  times  of  nonage,  for  which 
they  were  especially  written,  and  were  preparatory  to  the  time  of 
fulfilment  of  all  which  God  hath  spoken. 

"  The  law  was  given  bv  IMoses,  but  o;race  and  truth  came  bv 
Jesus  Chi'ist :"  John  i.  17.  These  simple  words  of  the  evan- 
gelist point  out  to  us  not  only  the  difference  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  but  they  declare  the  perpetual  importance  of  the 
Old  Testament  to  Christians.  While  the  mass  of  the  nations  of 
the  ancient  world  had  wandered  away  from  that  original  reve- 
lation of  the  holy,  beneficent,  personal  Deity,  Avhich  had  been 
given  to  them,  and  which  leaves  an  irrepressible  yearning  in  the 
soul  of  every  man,  and  had  adopted  a  worship  of  nature,  or  made 
vain  im})erfect  attempts  to  rise  above  it,  there  stood  out  one 
people  from  among  the  mass,  altogether  peculiar  in  character, 
which  has  preserved  in  its  holy  writings  the  historical  revelations 
of  the  Deity,  who  is  at  the  same  time  immeasurably  raised  above 
creation,  yet  intimately  united  with  it,  whose  hand  created  all 
things,  whose  breath  animates  all  things.  In  these  writings  we 
have  the  narrative  of  the  creation  :  man  is  elevated  above  the 
order  of  the  natural  world  as  God's  image ;  his  fall,  and  its 
necessary  consequence,  punishment,  are  the  beginnings  of  his 
history,  in  which  God's  wisdom  and  love  in  a  wonderful  manner 
lead  him  on  to  redemption.  The  law  witnesses  against  sin, 
since  God,  by  giving  therein  a  pattern  and  rule  of  holiness  of 
life,  with  which  no  man  perfectly  conforms,  awakens  a  presage 


6  I^^TEODUCTION  TO  THE 

of  the  accomplishment  and  fulfihnent  of  the  will  of  God,  and  is 
itself  the  greatest  of  all  predictions.  While  all  heathen  nations, 
from  the  earliest  times  even  to  our  own  days,  after  a  short  season 
of  prosperity,  have  languished  and  perished,  without  hope  of  re- 
vival, among  the  people  of  God's  covenant,  in  the  time  of  deepest 
misery,  the  Spirit  of  prophecy  has  been  awakened  most  power- 
fully, and  has  pointed  to  times  when  God's  people  shall  receive 
twofold  for  all  their  sins,  when  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  em- 
brace the  whole  world,  and  be  raised  to  a  height  of  glory  never 
before  experienced.  The  times  of  the  fulfilment  in  Christ  have 
a  twofold  relation  to  the  Old  Covenant :  Christ  and  His  apostles 
build  on  the  Old  Testament  revelation  concerning  the  creation, 
the  fall  of  man,  and  the  law,  which  witnesses  against  sin,  all 
their  doctrines,  which  are  only  developments  of  the  earlier  truths 
on  these  subjects  ;  and  likewise  they  explain  and  determine  more 
accurately  what  of  ancient  prophecy  has  been  already  fulfilled, 
and  what  is  in  course  of  fulfilment  in  Christian  times.  The 
grace  and  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  are  therefore  unintelligible 
without  the  law :  for  hoAv  can  we  understand  the  ffift  of  grace 
without  the  fact  of  sin  to  be  forgiven  ?  or  how  can  we  imder- 
stand  the  power  of  truth  unless  we  are  acquainted  with  the  sha- 
dows which  have  gone  before  1  Whei'e  the  indissoluble  con- 
nection of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  is  lost  sight  of,  there 
inevitably  will  their  contents  be  misunderstood,  and  perverted 
at  pleasure.  "  The  law  "  contained  in  the  five  Books  of  Moses 
forms  the  founda  ion-stone  of  the  revelations  of  the  Old  Cove- 
nant. Of  these  Moses  clearly  gives  himself  out  as  the  author, 
although  he  speaks  of  himself  in  the  third  person.  It  was  a  deep 
feeling  of  the  intense  sublimity  and  dignity  of  the  sacred  history 
which  moved  the  men  of  God  to  treat  their  own  individuality, 
wherever  it  was  mixed  up  with  the  events  they  related,  as  some- 
thing foreign  to  themselves,  and  merely  as  part  of  the  narrative. 
In  this  way  the  evangelists  wrote,  and  ^latthew  and  John 
speak  of  themselves  in  their  own  writings  as  if  they  were 
strangers.  The  first  Book  of  Moses,  Genesis,  though  it  begins 
with  the  creation,  by  no  means  consists  of  fragments  loosely 
tacked  together,  partly  agreeing  with,  partly  contradicting,  each 
other,  Avhich  is  the  notion  of  a  superficial  scepticism.  Even  the 
conjecture  of  an  original  writing,  worked  out  by  a  later  hand,  is 
utterly  untenable  without  the  most  violent  expedients ;  such  as 


SCRIPTURES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  7 

the  supposition  of  interpolations,  wherever  the  text  itself  contra- 
dicts the  presupposed  idea.  There  runs  throughout  this  book, 
from  beginning  to  end,  a  carefully  conceived  plan,  which  is  never 
lost  sight  of,  and  at  the  same  time  a  constant  reference  to  the 
contents  of  the  other  books.  It  is  much  less  conceivable  that 
the  history  of  the  primeval  period,  and  of  the  patriarchs,  in 
Genesis,  could  have  been  compiled  from  fragmentary  writings, 
even  than  tliat  Homer's  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  which  are  arranged 
with  so  much  art,  and  contain  references  of  the  later  parts  to  the 
earlier,  could  have  sprung  into  existence  out  of  the  rhapsodies  of 
wandering  bards.  At  the  very  commencement  we  meet  with  a 
connected  history  of  the  creation  in  seven  days,  in  which  God  is 
revealed  only  as  the  Creator.  No  repetition  of  this  account  is 
given  ;  but  tliere  follows  a  more  minute  description  of  the  crea- 
tion of  man  as  preparatory  to  the  history  of  his  fall,  and  the  first 
historical  revelation  of  God  in  man's  original  condition,  and  after 
the  fall.  A  string  of  genealogies  is  drawn  from  thence  through 
the  whole  book  up  to  Jacob,  which  often  seems  dropped,  but  is 
again  resumed  with  marked  completeness  and  purpose.  In  these 
tables  of  genealogy,  in  the  history  of  the  flood  and  of  the  patri- 
archs, there  are  abundant  references  to  the  history  of  the  crea- 
tion and  of  the  fidl  (see,  e.  g.,  ch.  v.  29,  vi.  o,  ix.  2,  xiv.  22, 
xviii.  25).  And  in  almost  every  narrative  may  the  reason 
clearly  be  perceived  why  it  is  told  in  this  particular  place,  and 
could  not  stand  anywhere  else  (see,  e.  g.,  ch.  xxxviii.).  Moreover 
the  law  is  not  intelligible  without  sin,  of  which  it  witnesses ;  the 
passage  out  of  Egypt  presupposes  the  promises  made  to  the 
patriarchs;  the  establislnnent  of  the  ordinance  of  marriage  forms 
the  groundwork  of  all  pi'ecepts  about  the  relation  of  the  sexes ; 
the  particular  regulations  about  the  hallowing  of  the  ground  and 
of  the  trees  (Lev.  xix.  25),  point  back  to  the  curse  pronounced 
on  the  ground ;  the  unblessedness  in  Jacob's  double  marriage  is 
certainly  not  mentioned  without  an  eye  to  the  forbidding  of  such 
unions  with  two  sisters  (Lev.  xviii.  18).  In  the  prophecy  about 
Canaan,  in  the  histories  of  Moab  and  Amnion,  and  of  Edom,  may 
we  perceive  plain  references  to  the  events  relating  to  their  de- 
scendants which  are  mentioned  in  the  following  books ;  and  so  in 
other  cases.  That  the  following  books  were  written  by  !Moses  is 
told  us  repeatedly  in  them.  At  the  first  triumph  of  Israel  over 
Amalek  (Exod.    xvii.),    it  is   expressly   commanded  that   the 


8  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 

account  of  this  event  should  be  recorded  in  "  the  Book  " — plainly, 
i.  e.,  a  known,  then  existing  book.  The  laws  which  follow  imme- 
diately after  the  Ten  Commandments  were  written  in  "  the  Book 
of  the  Covenant "  (Exod.  xxiv.  4-7),  which  was  read  in  the  ears 
of  the  people  at  the  solemn  conclusion  of  the  covenant.  In  the 
last  days  of  his  life,  in  the  field  of  Moab,  Moses  arranged  toge- 
ther all  the  particular  histories  and  laws,  and  made  some  addi- 
tional observations,  as,  for  instance,  Exod.  xvi.  35.  How  far 
Moses  wrote  and  arranged  the  books  is  told  us  plainly  in  Deut. 
xxxi.  24.  The  song  which  follows  (ch.  xxxii.),  and  the  blessing, 
was  written  or  dictated  by  him,  although  after  he  had  concluded 
the  book,  and  handed  it  over  to  another.  This  other  carried  on 
the  narrative  from  thence  (as  the  words  in  the  place  above  qvioted 
show),  and  concluded  with  the  death  and  burial  of  Moses. 
This  person  probably  was  Joshua,  since  both  his  position  towards 
Moses,  and  also  the  evidence  that  he  wrote  the  history  of  his  life 
in  the  Book  of  the  Law  of  God  (see  Joshua  xxiv.  26),  point  out 
to  him  as  the  author. 

In  even  a  higher  sense  than  he  intended,  has  the  opinion 
of  a  learned  man  of  the  last  century  (J.  D.  Michaelis)  been 
verified  in  our  days.  "  The  more  one  pays  attention  to  little 
points  in  the  Books  of  Moses,  and  carefully  investigates  them, 
the  more  will  a  man  be  convinced  of  their  antiquity  and  au- 
thenticity ;"  note  on  Gen.  xliv.  2.  It  was  supposed,  in  the 
last  century,  that  the  chronology  among  the  people  of  Eastern 
Asia,  the  Hindoos,  the  Chinese,  the  Japanese,  pointed  to  a  much 
earlier  date  for  the  creation  than  the  scriptural  chronology  could 
allow  of ;  when,  lo !  the  more  accurate  inquiry  of  our  age  has 
shown  that  the  authentic  history  of  these  people  did  not  extend, 
at  most,  farther  back  than  800  years  b.  c,  somewhat  about  the 
time  of  Isaiah,  and  all  before  that  is  uncertain  or  fabulous !  It 
has  again  been  supposed  that  the  intellectual  horizon  in  the  time 
of  Moses  was  far  too  circumscribed  to  allow  of  the  extensive 
view  of  the  relation  of  the  different  people,  such  as  we  meet  with 
in  the  10th  of  Genesis  ;  and  yet  recent  investigation  has  shown 
that  long  before  the  time  of  Moses  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor 
was  subject  to  the  Egyptians,  and  with  this  country  (as  the 
Egyptian  remains  prove)  the  most  constant  intercourse  on  the 
part  of  the  people  of  those  countries  was  carried  on.  It  has  been 
doubted  whether  the  whole  world  could  ever  have  had  "one 


SCRIPTURES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  9 

speech  and  one  language."  At  the  same  time  the  notion  was 
received  with  much  favoiir,  that  men  were  a  kind  of  natural 
product  of  the  particular  countries  they  inhabited,  and  were  not 
derived  from  a  single  pair  ;  and  yet  later  inquiry  has  most  satis- 
factorily proved  that  all  the  languages  on  the  face  of  the  globe 
have  an  original  connection.  People  have  found  in  the  Books 
of  ]\Ioses  intimations  of  a  knowledge  of  Egypt  which  appeared 
not  to  agree  with  what  was  known  from  other  sources  of  the 
state  of  culture  in  that  country.  About  half  a  century  ago  the 
French  were  prompted  by  motives  of  avarice  to  invade  Egypt. 
They  contended  with  the  English  for  the  mastery  over  those 
countries  which  were  the  scene  of  the  most  ancient  history  of  the 
Bible.  Vast  changes  in  the  world's  politics  seemed  likely  to 
arise  from  thence.  These,  however,  lasted  but  a  short  time, 
and  matters  returned  to  their  former  state,  in  which  they  now 
continue,  and  the  great  political  commotion  appeared  to  have 
taken  place  to  no  purpose.  But  the  French  had  brought  one 
thing  out  of  Egypt, — a  small,  black,  much  damaged  basalt  stone, 
with  a  surface  not  quite  four  feet  square  :  on  this  stone  stood  the 
remarkable  inscription  from  Rosette,  in  three  characters,  which 
became  the  key  to  all  the  subsequent  discoveries  in  the  inscrip- 
tions of  Egyptian  monuments,  and  though  much  that  is  uncer- 
tain may  still  remain,  it  has  been  the  means  of  discovering  to  us 
some  very  remarkable  facts.  The  notion  used  to  be,  that,  in  the 
time  of  ISIoses,  the  art  of  writing,  if  discovered,  as  might  be  the 
case,  was  still  not  yet  in  such  general  use,  as  to  render  it  probable 
that  a  work  of  the  compass  of  the  Pentateuch  could  have  been 
composed  in  the  wilderness.  But  these  witnesses  of  former  ages, 
newly  brought  to  light,  show  us,  that  in,old  Egypt  the  art  of  writ- 
ing was  in  use  in  all  relations  of  life,  and  especially  that  there 
was  in  the  priest-caste  a  class  of  "  holy  scribes,"  who  ke])t  the 
books  which  contained  their  hifjher  knowledge.  In  accordance 
with  the  origin  of  the  people  of  Israel  from  a  patriarchal  family, 
the  oldest  Israelitish  officers  are  scribes^  (see  Exod.  v.  G),  who 
probably  carried  on  the  genealogical  tables,  with  the  composition 
of  which  the  art  of  writing  had  begun  among  them.  Every- 
where in  the  Books  of  Moses  we  see  references  to  Egyptian  cus- 
toms and  regulations,  which  prove  at  the  same  time  an  acquaint- 

^  The  word  rendered  in  the  Engl,  version  "officers"   means  properly 
"scribes;"  Heb.  "  Schoterim." — See  note  in  loc. 


10  INTRODUCTIOX  TO  THE 

ance  with  them,  and  yet  witness  against  their  spirit.  Modern 
geographical  science  has  removed,  in  the  most  easy  and  obvious 
way,  a  number  of  apparent  contradictions  ;  and  if  at  present 
every  difficulty  is  not  solved — if  all  the  discoveries  of  modern 
science  are  not  in  all  points  agreeing  with  revelation— still  must 
our  age  thankfidly  acknowledge  that  it  entertains  a  lively  hope 
of  its  perfect  triumph  over  unbelief  from  the  progress  made  in 
modern  scriptural  research,  which  a  short  time  ago  was  so  un- 
looked  for.  Truly  these  Books  of  Moses  display  to  us  a  wonder- 
ful richness  and  harmony  in  their  revelation  of  the  Divine  wis- 
dom and  knowledge,  though  for  some  time  their  important  and 
prophetic  histories  were  treated  as  mere  fables,  and  their  momen- 
tous precepts  regarded  as  the  arbitrary  unmeaning  fancies  of  a 
bygone  age,  not  worth  remembering.  While  we  consider  Moses 
to  be  an  eye-witness  and  an  actor  in  most  of  the  events  of  the 
four  last  books,  yet  lie  must,  in  the  composition  of  the  first 
book,  have  made  use  of  the  ancient  traditions,  which,  together 
Avitli  the  genealogical  tables,  were  in  existence.  Some  short  and 
now  scarcely  intelligible  notifications  {e.  g.,  ch.  v.  24,  vi.  4, 
X.  12)  in  these  ancient  memorials  show"  how  much  was  inserted 
in  them  which  appeared  to  the  contemporaries  of  more  conse- 
quence than  to  posterity,  and  at  tlie  same  time  offer  a  proof  of 
their  great  antiquity.  The  perfect  resemblance  of  the  style,  the 
purpose  shown  in  the  arrangement  of  events,  and  the  reference 
to  the  law  (which  was  mentioned  above),  all  this  proves  that 
Moses  independently  worked  out  the  whole  which  came  into  his 
hands.  The  account  of  the  creation  and  of  the  flood  form  in  the 
narrative  an  entire  connected  history,  and  point  back  to  an  ori- 
ginal revelation  which  existed  before  the  flood,  and  was  handed 
down,  by  means  of  an  unbroken  tradition,  as  a  precious  legacy  in 
the  family  of  God's  children.  But  that  these  narratives  were 
only  the  concealed  figurative  representations  of  some  general 
truth  which  the  history  contained,  cannot  be  admitted,  since  in 
such  very  ancient  times  the  conscious  clotliing  of  a  history  in 
the  garb  of  allegory  is  altogether  inconceivable.  In  compiling 
these  old  narratives  into  a  continuous  history  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  one  and  the  same  Spirit  of  God  inspired  Moses  ;  which 
Spirit  he  had  received  in  a  greater  measure  than  all  his  brethren, 
since  he  was  the  servant  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  administra- 
tion of  the  whole  house  of  God.     (Num.  xii.  7.) 


SCRIPTURES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  11 

The  first  book  may  be  divided  into  the  following  principal 
sections  : — 

I.  The  history  of  mankind  before  the  flood  :  (l.)The  creation, 
ch.  i.-ii.  4.  (2.)  Paradise,  the  institution  of  marriage,  the  fall 
and  its  punishment,  ch.  ii.  5-ch.  iii.  (3.)  Cain  and  Abel,  the 
genealogy  of  Cain's  descendants;  Seth  and  Enos,  ch.  iv.  (4. )  The 
genealogy  of  the  patriarchs  to  Noah,  ch.  v. — II.  The  flood  and 
the  dispersion  of  the  nations  :  (1.)  Cause,  prediction,  coming, 
and  course  of  the  flood,  ch.  vi.— ix.  17.  (2.)  Shem,  Ham,  and 
Japhet,  ch.  ix.  (3.)  The  list  of  the  nations,  ch.  x.  (4.)  The 
dispersion.  (5.)  The  descendants  of  Shem  up  to  Noah. — III. 
The  history  of  Abraham:  (1.)  His  call  and  journey  to  Canaan, 
ch.  xii.  1-9.  (2.)  His  journey  into  Egypt,  ch.  xii.  10  to  end. 
(3.)  His  separation  from  Lot,  ch.  xiii.  (4.)  The  -war  of  the 
kings,  and  the  blessing  of  Melchisedec,  ch.  xiv.  (5.)  The  cove- 
nant of  God  with  Abraham,  ch.  xv.  (G.)  Hagar's  flight  and  the 
l)irtli  of  Ishmael,  ch.  xvi.  (7.)  The  sign  of  the  covenant,  the 
institution  of  circumcision,  ch.  xvii.  (8.)  The  promise  of  Isaac, 
and  the  destruction  of  Sodom,  ch.  xviii.  19-29.  (9.)  The  origin 
of  the  children  of  Moab  and  Ammon,  ch,  xix.  30-38.  (10.) 
Sarah  in  the  house  of  Abimelech,  ch.  xx.  (11.)  The  birth  of 
Isaac,  and  the  expulsion  of  Hagar,  ch.  xxi.  1-21.  (12.)  Abraham 
in  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  ch.  xxi.  22-34.  (13.)  The  offer- 
ing up  of  Isaac,  ch.  xxii.  (14.)  Sarah's  death  and  burial, 
ch.  xxiii.  (15.)  Rebecca  sought  in  marriage,  ch.  xxiv.  (IG.) 
Death  of  Abraham,  ch.  xxv.  1-11.  (17.)  The  descendants  of 
Ishmael,  ch.  xxv.  12-18. — IV.  The  history  of  Isaac  and  Jacob  : 
(1.)  Birth  of  the  twins,  sale  of  the  birthright,  ch.  xxv.  19-34. 
(2.)  Isaac  in  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  ch.  xxvi.  (3.)  Blessing 
upon  Jacob  and  Esau,  ch.  xxvii.  (4.)  Jacob's  flight ;  his 
sojourning  with  Laban,  marriages,  children,  return,  ch.  xxviii.- 
xxxiii.  (5.)  Dinah's  shame,  ch.  xxxiv.  (G.)  Jacob  in  Canaan  ; 
Isaac's  death,  ch.  xxxv.  (7.)  Esau's  descendants,  ch.  xxxvi. — 
V.  The  history  of  Joseph  :  (1.)  His  dreams,  and  his  being  sold, 
ch.  xxxvii.  (2.)  The  children  of  Judah,  ch.  xxxviii.  (3.) 
Joseph  in  the  house  of  Potiphar,  and  his  imprisonment, 
cli.  xxxix.  xl.  (4.)  His  interpretation  of  Pharaoh's  dream, 
ch.  xii.  (5.)  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  ch.  xlii.-xlv.  (6.)  Jacob 
comes  down  into  Egypt ;  the  genealogy  of  the  descendants  of  his 
sons,  ch.  xlvi.     (7.)  Jacob  in  Egypt,  ch.  xlvii.     (8.)  The  bless- 


12  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 

ing  of  Jacob  on  Ephraim  and  JNIanasseh,  cli.  xlviii.  (9.)  Jacob's 
blessing  on  his  sons,  and  his  death,  ch.  xlix.  (10.)  The  en- 
tombment of  Jacob  and  Joseph,  ch.  1. — In  order  to  understand 
tlie  plan  and  arrangement  of  the  narrative,  it  is  important  to 
follow  the  continuous  order  of  the  genealogical  tables:  they  are 
found,  ch.  V. ;  ch.  vi.  9-10 ;  ch.  x. ;  ch.  xi.  10-27  (interposed 
are,  ch.  xxii.  20-24;  ch.  xxv.  1-4,  12-15);  ch.  xxv.  19,  20; 
ch.  xxv.  22,  2G  (interposed  ch.  xxxvi.  9-19);  ch.  xxxvii.  2;  ch. 
xxxviii. ;  ch.  xlvi.  8-20. 

The  principal  contents  of  the  second  book,  Exodus,  are  as 
follows  : — I.  (1.)  The  oppression  of  Israel,  ch.  i.  (2.)  Birth  and 
education  of  Moses,  the  killing  of  the  Egyptian,  the  flight  of 
Moses,  ch.  ii.  (3.)  His  call  and  return,  ch.  iii.  (4.)  The  first 
nine  plagues,  v.— x.  (5.)  The  last  plague,  the  institution  of  the 
Passover,  the  passage  out  of  Egypt,  the  pi'eservation,  ch.  xi.— 
xiv. — II.  The  march  to  Mount  Sinai,  and  the  delivery  of  the 
law  :  (1.)  Events  in  the  wilderness  up  to  the  arrival  at  Mount 
Sinai,  ch.  xA\-xviii.  (2.)  The  delivery  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, ch.  xix.  20,  21.  (3.)  Further  explanations  of  their 
meaning:  tlie  Book  of  the  Covenant,  ch.  xxiv.  (4.)  Conclusion 
of  the  covenant,  ch.  xxiv.  (5.)  Regulations  with  respect  to  the 
Tabernacle,  ch.  xxv.-xxxi.  (6.)  Idolatry  of  the  people,  renewal 
of  the  covenant,  ch.  xxxii.-xxxv.  (7.)  Making,  etc.,  of  the  Taber- 
nacle, its  dedication,  ch.  xxxvi.-xl. 

The  third  book,  Leviticus,  concludes  the  giving  of  the  law 
on  Mount  Sinai,  with  the  order  of  sacrifices  and  of  the  priests, 
and  the  laws  of  purification.  (1.)  The  general  order  of  the 
sacrifices,  ch.  i.-vii.  (2.)  Consecration  of  the  priests,  and  the 
circumstances  accompanying  it,  ch.  viii.-x.  (3.)  The  laAvs  of 
purification,  ch.  xi,-xv.  (4.)  The  day  of  atonement,  ch.  xvi. 
(5.)  Eating  of  blood  and  of  the  fat  forbidden,  ch.  xvii.  (6.)  Un- 
lawful marriages  forbidden,  ch.  xviii.  (7.)  Sundry  laws,  ch.  xix. 
(8.)  Penalties  for  certain  offences,  ch.  xx.  (9.)  Description  of 
the  character  of  the  priests  and  of  the  sacrifices,  ch.  xxi.  xxii. 
(10.)  Appointment  of  the  feasts,  ch.  xxiii.  (11.)  Preparation  of 
the  oil  and  of  the  shew-bread,  ch.  xxiv.  1-9.  (12.)  Laws  con- 
cerning blasphemy,  ch.  xxiv.  10-xxv.  (13.)  The  year  of  rest 
and  of  jubilee,  ch.  xxv.  (14.)  Conclusion  of  the  law-giving  on 
Mount  Sinai,  with  promises  and  threatenings,  ch.  xxvi.  (15.) 
Supplemental  laws  respecting  vows  and  tithes,  ch.  xxvii. 


SCRIPTURES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  13 

The  fourth  book,  Numbers,  contains — I.  (1.)  The  number  of 
the  men  of  war,  the  orderof  the  camp,  the  number  of  the  Lcvites 
and  fii'stborn,  the  quahfications  of  the  different  famihes  of  the 
Levites,  ch.  i.-iv.  Here  is  inserted  (2.)  The  command  concern- 
ing the  purification  of  the  camp,  the  trial  of  jealousy,  the  law  of 
the  Kazarite,  ch.  v.-vi.  21.  (3.)  The  form  of  blessing,  ch.  vi. 
22-27.  (4.)  Sacrifices  and  gifts  to  the  Tabernacle,  dedication 
of  the  Levites,  ch.  vii.  viii.  (5.)  The  first  Passover  ordained, 
and  an  after  Passover  for  those  who  were  defiled,  ch.  ix.  1-14. 
(6.)  Signs  for  encamping  and  marching,  ch.  ix.  15-23.  (7.) 
The  trumpets,  the  departure. — II.  The  march  through  the  wil- 
derness to  the  borders  of  Canaan  :  (1.)  The  graves  of  lust, 
ch.  xi.  (2.)  Miriam's  and  Aaron's  opposition,  ch.  xii.  (3.)  The 
spies,  ch.  xiii.  xiv.  (4.)  Law  of  meat  and  drink  ofl'erings, 
ch.  XV.  1-31.  (5.)  Punishment  of  the  Sabbath-breaker,  ch.  xv. 
32-41.  ((3.)  Korah's  rebellion,  ch.  xvi.  (7.)  Confirmation  of 
the  priestliood  by  means  of  Aaron's  rod,  ch.  xvii.  (8.)  The 
portion  of  the  priests  and  Levites,  ch.  xviii.  (9.)  The  water  of 
separation,  ch.  xix.  (10.)  Water  out  of  the  rock  at  Kadesh  ; 
Aaron's  death,  ch.  xx.  (H.)  The  fiery  serpents;  Arad,  Sihon, 
and  Og  overcome,  ch.  xxi.  (12.)  The  prophecies  of  Balaam, 
ch.  xxii.-xxiv.  (13.)  Seduction  by  the  Midianites,  ch.  xxv. 
(14.)  Fresh  numbering  of  the  people,  ch.  xxvi.  (15.)  The  law 
of  inheritances,  ch.  xxvii.  1-11.  (16.)  The  death  of  Moses 
announced  ;  Joshua  his  successor,  ch.  xxvii.  12-23.  (17.)  Eegu- 
lations  concerning  difterent  sacrifices,  ch.  xxviii.  xxix.  (18.) 
The  binding  of  vows,  ch.  xxx.  (10.)  Defeat  of  the  Midianites, 
ch.  xxxi.  (20.)  Division  of  the  land  east  of  Jordan,  ch.  xxxii. 
(21.)  Specification  of  the  journeys  of  the  Israelites,  ch.  xxxiii. 
(22.)  Borders  and  division  of  Canaan,  ch.  xxxiv.  (23.)  Tlie 
cities  of  the  Levites,  and  the  cities  of  refuge.  (24.)  Law  con- 
cerning heiresses,  ch.  xxxvi. 

The  fifth  book,  Deuteronomy,  contains — I.  The  fin-ewcll  words 
of  Moses  to  the  people :  (1.)  Tlie  first  address,  ch.  i.-iv. 
40.  (2.)  Separation  of  three  cities  of  refuge  on  the  cast  side 
Jordan,  ch.  iv.  41-43.  (3.)  The  second  address  ;  recapitulation 
of  the  Ten  Commandments,  with  exhortations,  ch.  v.-xi.  I'he 
service  of  God's  worship  to  be  in  one  place,  cli.  xii.  Punisli- 
ment  of  idolatry,  of  the  seducer  and  seduced,  cli.  xiii.  Ilegula- 
tions  concerning  raourning,  meats,  tithes,  ch.  xiv.     The  year  of 


14  INTKODUCTIOX  TO  THE  SCRIPTURES,  ETC. 

release ;  concerning  the  firstborn,  cli.  xv.  The  feasts,  ch.  xvi. 
Of  judges  and  kings,  ch.  xvii.  Of  priests  and  prophets,  ch.  xviii. 
The  cities  of  refuge,  false  witnesses,  ch.  xix.  Laws  of  war,  ch. 
XX.  Sundry  laws,  ch.  xxi.-xxvi. — II.  Events  to  the  death  of 
Moses :  (1.)  Appointing  of  the  stones  of  memorial,  of  blessing 
and  cursing,  promises  and  threatenings,  ch.  xxvii.  xxviii.  (2.) 
Renewal  of  the  covenant,  ch.  xxix.  xxx.  (3.)  Moses  delivers 
up  his  office  to  Joshua,  the  Book  of  the  Law  to  the  priests, 
ch.  xxxi.  (4.)  The  song  of  Moses,  ch.  xxxii.  (5.)  The  blessing 
of  Moses,  ch.  xxxiii.     (G.)  The  death  of  Moses,  ch.  xxxiv. 


THE    FIRST   BOOK   OF   lOSE 

(CALLED  GENESIS,  i.  c,  CREATION). 


CHAPTER  I. 


God,  the  eternal,  self-existent,  personal  source  of  all  life, — lie 
who  was  before  all  things,  and  in  whom  all  things  subsist,  has 
created  heaven  and  earth,  and  all  that  therein  is,  visible  and  in- 
visible, by  means  of  His  Word,  the  utterance  of  His  will.  With 
this  one  declaration  at  its  commencement  does  the  Book  of  all 
books  distinguish  itself  from  everything  which  heathen  tradition 
or  human  wisdom  has  ever  taught  of  the  origin  of  things.  The 
world  is  not  God, — not  an  effluence  from  God,  a  part  of  His 
being ;  but  it  has  been  created  by  His  will,  to  be  a  glorious  ma- 
nifestation of  His  eternal  might,  wisdom,  and  love.  ( Vide  Ps. 
xxxiii.  6,  9  ;  Isa.  xlii.  5  ;  Neh.  ix.  6.)  Of  this  His  great 
work  has  God  given  to  His  children  the  history  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, which  is  designed  to  prove  a  word  of  instruction  and  wis- 
dom for  life  in  Him,  in  order  that  He  may  instruct  man,  created 
after  His  own  image,  and  who  is  His  fellow-worker,  after  the 
example  of  his  Creator,  to  tend  the  little  field  of  labour  which  is 
intrusted  to  his  care  ;  to  bring  it  out  of  disorder  and  wildness, 
and  to  make  it  more  and  more  subject  to  His  Spirit.  By 
means  of  this  Word  has  He  taught  him  to  strive  after  rest 
through  labour,  and  at  the  end  of  every  Aveek  to  place  a  land- 
mark on  his  journey,  from  whence  he  may  look  back  on  what 
is  done,  observe  what  is  wanting,  and  gather  vip  strength  for  the 
coming  days'  labom*.     By  means  of  this  same  rest  has  He  given 


16  GENESIS  I.  1. 

to  man,  pressed  down  under  the  burden  of  sin,  and  labouring  in 
his  work  of  the  new  creation  (viz.,  sanctification),  a  type  of  the 
eternal  rest,  in  which  God  has  called  His  people  to  participate. 

The  works  of  the  first  tliree  days  and  the  last  three  corre- 
spond with  one  another.  On  the  first  day  is  light  created  ;  on 
the  fourth  day,  the  lights  in  heaven  :  on  the  second,  the  visible 
heaven  with  the  waters  ;  on  the  fifth,  the  fishes  of  the  sea  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air :  on  the  third,  the  dry  land,  with  its  clothing  of 
vegetation  ;  on  the  sixth,  the  land  animals  and  man — on  the 
first  three  days  the  inanimate  substances,  on  the  last  three  the 
living  inhabitants,  are  produced.  In  the  vegetable  world  the 
dry  land  attains  its  destined  pvirpose,  as  the  animal  world,  and 
indeed  the  whole  creation,  attains  its  end  in  man.  All  the  fol- 
lowing history  is  written  only  for  man  ;  and  therefore  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  and  the  whole  host  of  heaven,  appear  only  as 
lights  in  the  firmament  of  heaven.  Of  the  inhabitants  of 
heaven  nothing  is  told  us.  Still  in  this  book  angels  are  fi'e- 
quently  spoken  of,  and  the  fall  of  some  is  presupposed  (ch.  iii.). 
In  the  book  of  Job  (ch.  xxxviii.  7),  it  is  intimated  that  the  angels 
were  spectators  of  the  six  days'  work  of  creation. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Ver.  1.  In  the  beginning;  i.e.,  of  all  things,  since  all  things 
have  had  a  beginning,  and  are  not  eternal  as  God  is.  All  crea- 
tion is  temporal,  and  time  was  created  with  it.  But  in  the  be- 
ginning, when  all  things  came  into  existence,  there  existed 
already  the  Word  (St  John  i.  1).  It  never  was  created,  had 
no  beginning  in  time ;  and  through  the  Word  was  everything 
in  the  beginning  created. 

Created. — "  To  create,"  in  Scripture  language,  always  means, 
to  call  forth  something  into  real  existence.  Heaven  and  earth 
are  created,  and  not,  as  the  heathens  imagined,  merely  formed 
out  of  matter  already  existing.  This  teaching  raises  the  reve- 
lation of  Holy  Scripture  above  the  whole  heathen  wisdom,  which 
never  could  soar  beyond  the  notion  of  opposition  between  God 
and  the  world,  Spirit  and  nature.     And  still  is  the  doctrine  of 


GENESIS  I.  1.  17 

the  creation  the    boundary-line    betwixt  Christianity  and    the 
speculations  of  philosophy. 

God. — Where  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  our  translation,  the 
word"  God"  stands,  there  in  the  Hebrew  is  the  word  "Elohim" 
(which  signifies  strictly,  "the  One  to  be  feared, to  be  reverenced"). 
Where  the  word  "  Lord  "  occurs,  it  is  commonly  in  Heb.  "  Jeho- 
vah."  Elohim  is  properly  a  plural,  "  the  Beings  to  be  feared  ;"  it 
has,  however, the  verb  in  the  singular.  Elohim  is  the  more  general 
name, answering  somewhat  to  our  word  "Deities,"  and  is  therefore 
used  also  of  the  cods  of  the  heathen.     The  Plural  "Deities"  ex- 
presses  the  comprehensiveness  of  all  Divine  attributes.    This  more 
general  word  "  God  "  describes  the  Almighty  in  His  relation  as 
Creator  and  Lord  of  the  world,  Avhose  "  eternal  power  and  god- 
head" might  be  known  by  the  heathen,  as  declared  in  the  works  of 
creation  (Rom.  i.19,20).  Theword  "Jehovah,"  properly  expressed 
"  Jahaveh  "  (the  Jews,  out  of  superstitious  fear  of  uttering  this 
word,  placed  the  vowels  of  "  Adonaj  "  [Lord]  under  "  Jahaveh," 
and  read  this  word  instead  of  "  Jahaveh"),  means  Him  "  who  is ;" 
i.  e.,  the  true,  only,  eternal  Self-existent.     This  word  represents 
always  the  living,  personal  God,  m  His  revealed  character,  in  His 
covenanted  relations  to  man  (see  Exod.  iii.  14).  Where  the  true 
God  appears  in  His  character  as  the  "Creator"  (as  here),  Avhere 
the  serpent  (ch.  iii.  2),  where  the  heathen  (ch.  xx.  4)  use  His 
name;  again,  in  the  description  of  the  flood  (ch.  vi.  11),  of  the 
dispersion  of  mankind  (ch.  ix.  10), — in  all  these  cases  the  word 
God,  Elohim,  occurs  :  but  where,  in  the  revelation  of  Himself  in 
the  prayers  and  sacrifices  of  men,  the  covenanted  relation  be- 
tween the  personal  God  and  mankind  is    prominently  repre- 
sented {e.  g.,  ch.  iv.  3,  26;  ch.  v.  29;  ch.  vii.  1  ;  ch.  xii.  1), 
there  the  word  Jehovah  is  especially  employed  (though,  indeed, 
sometimes  the  words  are  used  indiscriminately).   There  are  some 
passages  (as  ch.  xvii.  18,  22),  in  which  first  "God"  (Elohim), 
then  "  Lord  "  (Jahaveh),  stands,  in  order  to  point  out  how  by  a 
new  revelation  the  "Most  Highest"  would  declare  Himself  as 
the  true  living  God  of  covenant.     Both  words  stand  together 
("  Jehovah  Elohim,"  "God  the  Lord")  in  the  section  which  fol- 
lows this  present  one  (viz.  in  ch.  ii.  5,  and  iii.  24).  And  very  signi- 
ficantly. The  words  are  there  used  in  order  to  impress  on  us,  that 
He  who  has  revealed  Himself  to  mankind — who  by  command,  by 
tin-eats,  by  punishment,  by  promise,  declares  Himself  as  the  per- 

B 


18  GENESIS  1.  2. 

sonal  Jehovah,  the  ruler  of  their  destiny,  is  the  same  God  and 
Creator  of  all  things  whose  great  work  has  just  been  narrated. 

A7icl  the  earth. — The  original  meaning  of  heaven  and  earth  is, 
the  high  and  the  lower  place.     What  the  eye  beholds  as  the  visi- 
ble emblem  of  heaven— the  firmament,  with  sun,  moon,  and  stars 
— is  calculated  to  fill  the  mind  with  anticipations  of  the  higher  in- 
visible world,  which  is  emphatically  called  in  Scripture  "heaven," 
the  place  which  the  holy  beings  inhabit  who  are  not  separated 
from  God  by  sin,  and  wdiere  therefore  He  Himself  can  reveal  His 
majesty  more  fully.     But,  independently  of  the  division  which 
sin  has  made  in  God's  creation.  He  did  not  "in  the  beginning" 
create  the  heaven  and  earth  as  one,  but  separated  them  from 
each  other.     The  world  is  destined  to  develop  itself  in  the  dis- 
tinction of  heaven  and  earth,  which  is  repeated  again  on  earth  in 
a  smaller  degree  by  the  distinction  of  spirit  and  nature,  flesh 
and  spirit, — distinctions,  which  will  abide  even  wdien  sin  is  taken 
away  (Rev.  xxi.  1),  yet  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  earth  will 
become  heavenly,  as  the  body  will  become  "  spiritual : "  so  do 
the  very  first  words  of  Scripture  point  at  a   mighty  mystery, 
which  in  the  course  of  revelation  is  ever  more  and  more  un- 
veiled to  our  view.     At  the  same  time  these  words  have  a  very 
important  bearing  on  what  presently  follows  in  ch.  iii.,  the  his- 
tory of  the  origin  of  sin.     God  is  the  Creator  of  all  that  exists  : 
the  origin  of  evil,  therefore,  is  not  to  be  sought  for  in  the  world 
which  He  made, — in  the  natural  preponderance,  so  to  speak,  of 
the  coarser  matter,  i.  e.,  the  flesh,  over  spirit,  as  the  heathens 
and  heathenish-minded  Christians  have  taught,  but  in  the  per- 
verseness  of  the  being  who  was   created  with  free-will.     This 
first  verse  is  not  to  be  understood  as  the  mere  preface  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  creation  which  follows,  much  less  as  that  of  the  his- 
tory of  a  creation  before  that  of  the  six  days  ;  but  as  if  it  stood 
thus :  "  When  in  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven    and 
earth,  then  was  the  earth  without  form  and  void."     [Neverthe- 
less the  supposition  of  the  existence  of  the  earth  in  a  chaotic  state, 
before  it  was  prepared  for  man's  use  (possibly  the  wreck  of  an- 
other world),  is  not  contradictory  to  Scripture,  and  is  most  in 
accordance  with  the  discoveries  of  geology. — Trans.'] 

Ver.  2.  Without  form  and  void.  Lit.  "  Wasteness  and  empti- 
ness," a  mass  without  form  or  light. — This  is  said  of  the  earth 
alone,  not  of  the  heaven  and  earth,  as  beyond  the  visible,  material 


GENESIS  I.  3.  19 

heaven,  lies  another  kingdom  not  "  without  form  and  void,"  but 
glorious  and  beautiful,  of  which  this  material  heaven  is  the  em- 
blem. Of  the  creation  of  this  invisible  world  nothing  is  told  us, 
since  the  Word  of  God  speaks  from  the  commencement  to  man, 
and  in  accordance  with  man's  necessities.  "  Why  has  God  cre- 
ated the  heaven  all  glorious  and  perfectly  formed,  but  the  earth 
'  without  form  ?'  He  has  not  done  this  without  design,  but  in 
order  that  in  the  more  glorious  part  of  creation  we  might  per- 
ceive His  creative  power,  and  not  suppose  that  through  '  ftiilure 
in  might  He  has  made  the  earth  as  He  did,'  viz.,  without  form." 
— St  Chrysostom. 

The  deep  ;  i.  e.,  the  floods  which  covered  the  earth. — "\A'^ithout 
form,  void,  and  dark,  came  forth  the  earth  at  the  commencement 
from  God's  hand  ;  and  in  this  gradual  formation  and  develop- 
ment of  the  rude  mass  was  it  God's  will  to  resemble  a  human 
worker,  that  man  might  for  his  part  be  like  God.  In  its  becom- 
ing perfect,  and  not  being  so  at  once,  lies  the  essential  character 
of  everything  created.  In  God  there  is  none  of  the  impatient 
longing  for  the  end  which  is  characteristic  of  sinful  man  with 
his  narrow  views. 

Moved. — This  word  "brooded"  is  used  (Deut.  xxxii.  11)  of 
the  eagle  who  sits  on  its  young,  warms  and  defends  them  (in 
English  translation,  "fluttereth").  Hence  we  gain  the  notion  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  brooding  over  the  mass  which  contained  the 
germ  of  all  life.  "  This  appears  to  me  to  point  out  the  truth 
that  a  vital  power  resided  in  the  water ;  that  it  was  no  unmove- 
able  and  standing  water,  but  full  of  motion  and  the  power  of 
life." — St  Chrysostom.  By  "  the  Word"  God  creates,  by  the 
Spirit  He  gives  life  and  sustains  all  creation  :  yea.  He  Himself 
lives  in  the  created.  He  "  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh." 
"  Wind"  and  "  Spirit"  are  the  same  word  in  Hebrew.  The 
wind  is  the  breath  of  the  universe.  In  this  breath  of  life  is  the 
life-giving  and  life-sustaining  Spirit  of  God  Himself:  Ps.  civ.  30. 

Ver.  3.  Ligld. — "  Here,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  these  arc  the 
words  not  of  Moses,  but  of  God,  i.e.,  realities,  things,  existences. 
God  calls  to  that  which  is  not,  that  it  may  exist,  and  He  utters 
not  words  but  things  ;  so  that  what  with  us  is  a  sound,  with  God 
is  a  thing.  God  says,  '  Let  the  sun  shine,'  and  the  sun  is 
there  and  shines.  Here  must  we  make  a  diflerence  between 
the  uncreated  and  the  created  Word.     Since  what  is  the  uni- 


20  GENESIS  I.  i,  5. 

verse  but  God's  spoken  Word?  The  uncreated  Word  is  the 
Divine  thought,  the  inward  command  which  abides  in  God,  and 
is  one  with  God,  and  yet  a  distinct  Person." — Luther.  Light  is 
created  before  everything  else ;  since  without  light,  which  dis- 
closes all  things,  and  is  an  effluence  from  the  Eternal  Source  of 
light,  everything  is  buried  in  death  (St  John  i.  4).  Light  is  the 
most  spiritual  of  all  material  things.  Light,  we  find  here,  does 
not  proceed  from  the  sun  (vide  ver.  14),  and  yet  the  day  is 
divided  into  the  regular  alternations  of  light  and  darkness.  The 
sun  has  not  light  in  itself  (not  even  in  a  physical  sense,  since  we 
now  know  that  the  sun  is  an  opaque  body,  with  an  illuminating 
atmosphere).  Light  is  an  effluence  of  the  life  which  God 
breathed  into  the  universe ;  and  only  when  everything  is  in  due 
order  distlngaislied,  is  light  apportioned  to  the  sun  to  rule  and  to 
adorn  the  earth.  On  the  first  day  was  nothing  but  light  cre- 
ated ;  we  may  therefore  infer  with  probability  that  the  creation  of 
it  was  not  the  work  of  a  moment. 

Ver.  4.  Good. — On  every  glorious  work,  as  it  is  completed, 
the  eye  of  Divine  love  rests,  full  of  joy.  To  impart  His  glory, 
to  fill  all  things  with  His  sanctifying,  blessing  love, — this  is  the 
object  of  His  creation.  Every  created  work  is  to  us  an  evidence 
of  God's  mercy  and  wisdom  ;  to  Himself,  a  source  of  fresh  joy. 
The  expression  which  is  so  constantly  repeated,  "  God  saw  that 
it  was  good,"  declares  to  us  this  truth,  that  God  is  the  holy 
Source  of  all  good,  and  that  in  this  world  there  lies  no  incentive 
to  sin,  but  sin  is  the  fault  of  man. 

Darkness. — The  words,  "  God  divided  the  light  from  the 
darkness,"  is  so  to  be  understood  that  this  necessai'ily  took  place 
through  the  creation  of  light,  since  light  is  one  thing,  the  ab- 
sence of  light,  which  God  had  ordained  in  the  darkness  opposed 
to  light,  another.  It  is  not  said,  God  made  the  darkness  (as  also 
it  is  not  said,  God  saw  the  night  that  it  was  good,  since  only  in 
its  relation  to  the  day  is  it  good).  God  creates  only  entities, 
and  the  darkness  belongs  to  the  nonentity  out  of  which  God 
created  everything.  Still  God  appointed  the  cessation  or  sus- 
pension of  the  existence,  so  that  also  the  non-existence  is  ordained 
by  God's  all-directing  guidance. — St  Augustine. 

Ver.  5.  Night. — "  Every  light  is  not  day,  nor  every  darkness 
night ;  but  light  and  darkness,  following  each  other  according  to 
a  regular  order  and  succession,  are  called  Day  and  Night. — St 


GENESIS  I.  6-11.  21 

Augustine.  The  "calling"  is  the  same  as  "  determining  an \- 
thing  in  accordance  with  its  nature  and  appearance  ;"  thereby  is 
signified  the  might  of  God,  which  determines  and  wills  all. 

Day. — The  darkness  out  of  God  was  the  original  condition, 
the  beginning  of  creation,  insomuch  as  God  had  not  penetrated 
the  whole  of  created  matter  with  His  life.  God  called  the  lialit 
to  shine  out  of  darkness  (2  Cor.  iv.  6) :  therefore  the  day  begins 
with  the  evening  ;  and  the  Israelites,  who  closely  adhered  to  the 
history  of  the  'creation,  continued  this  mode  of  reckoning. 
\A'heii  the  darkness  succeeded  to  the  light  after  its  ordained 
continuance,  the  first  day  (lit.  a  day)  closed.  As  the  light  had 
come  out  of  darkness,  and  was  appointed  continually  so  to  do, 
and  as  the  darkness  was  no  longer  simply  darkness,  but  a  state 
which  introduces  day,  therefore  the  two  together  are  called 
"  Day."  Darkness  had  its  existence  only  for  the  sake  of  the  day. 
Ver.  6.  Firmament. — Heb.,  Expansion,  like  a  tent-cover,  to 
which  it  is  often  compared. 

Ver.  7.  From  the  loaters,  which  drop  from  the  clouds  :  Ps. 
cxlviii.  4. 

Ver.  8.  Heaven. — The  upper  vault  from  Avhich  light,  and 
Avarmth,  and  fructifying  moisture  come  down  to  bless  the  earth, 
which,  ^^•ith  its  moving  and  its  stationary  lights,  has  always 
aroused  the  attention  even  of  the  rudest  of  mankind,  and  carried 
up  their  asjiirations  to  dwell  on  a  higher  power  than  the  earthly, 
and  which  is  the  visible  pledge,  yea,  perhaps,  the  distant  glim})se 
of  a  world  of  light.  It  therefore  bears  the  same  name  with  that 
kingdom  where  "our  Father  in  heaven"  manifests  Himself. 

Ver.  1).  Dry  land. — The  land  was  originally  mixed  up  with 
the  water,  and  covered  by  it.  It  was  raised  out  of  the  water  pror 
bably  by  means  of  fire.  See  Ps.  civ.  5.  As  originally  all  was 
sea,  so  on  "the  new  earth"  shall  there  be  "no  more  sea  :"  Kev. 
xxi.  1.  On  the  second  day,  it  is  not  said  that  God  "  saw  that  it 
Avas  good,"  probably  for  this  reason,  that  the  second  day's  work 
receives  its  completion  on  the  third  day,  with  the  covering  of  the 
earth,  its  plants  and  vegetation,  which  is  to  the  ground  \Ahat 
man  is  to  the  whole  earth,  viz.,  its  crowni  and  perfection. 

Ver.  11.  Kind.— A  higher  order  of  trees  and  plants  than  had 
existed  before  now  sprung  out  of  the  earth,  which  was  watered 
from  above.  The  vegetable  kingdom  is  in  its  nature  perishable  ; 
but  by  "the  herb  yielding  seed,"  a  provision  is  made  for  its  constant 


22  GENESIS  I.  14-22. 

renewal.  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  imagine,  because  friiii-hearing 
trees  are  here  spoken  of,  that  others,  as  thorns  and  thistles,  came 
into  being  only  after  the  fall.  Who  can  determine  what  utility 
the  even  apparently  useless  may  afford  to  man  ?  Even  of  thorns 
and  thistles  St  Augustine  says,  "  It  is  not  probable  that  these 
were  called  into  existence  after  the  fall,  since,  perhaps,  because 
even  in  this  kind  of  plant  there  is  much  utility,  they  at  the  be- 
ginning had  their  place  assigned  Avithout  injury  or  punishment 
to  man  ;  but  the  point  of  his  punishment  consisted  in  this,  that 
these  things  grew  in  the  fields  from  which,  with  much  labour, 
he  had  to  gain  his  nourishment." 

Ver.  14.  Years. — The  "  signs "  are  the  prognostics,  e.  g.,  of 
the  weather;  the  "seasons,"  the  periods  appointed  for  festivals, etc., 
to  which  especially  the  new  moons  belonged.  As  the  months  are 
reckoned  by  the  moon  and  the  years  by  the  sun,  and  both  must 
be  brought  into  agreement,  in  very  early  times  the  years  were 
reckoned  by  the  sun  and  moon  conjointly,  not,  as  with  us,  by  the 
sun  alone. 

Yer.  18.  Darkness. — It  is  remarkable  that  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars  were  created  only  on  the  fourth  day.  These  heavenly 
lights  were  then  only  placed  in  the  firmament ;  and  since  already 
light  had  been  created,  and  the  successions  of  day  and  night 
taken  place,  these  bodies  Avere  rather  serviceable  for  the  order 
and  adornment  of  the  earth  than  absolutely  necessary.  More- 
over they  appear  here  not  for  their  own  sakes,  but  for  the  ser- 
vice of  man  and  of  the  earth  in  ruling  day  and  night.  In  both 
these  points  is  Scripture  o])posed  to  the  notions  of  tlie  old  hea- 
thens. In  most  of  the  heatlien  religions  the  worship  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  five  principal  planets  (from  which  Ave  derive  the 
names  of  the  days  of  the  Aveek),  viz.,  ]\Iars,  ]\Iercury,  Jupiter, 
Venus,  Saturn,  formed  a  main  article  of  all  religions.  See  Jer. 
xix.  13  ;  Zeph.  i.  5  ;  Acts  vii.  42. 

Ver.  20.  Fly. — Ileb.,  "  Let  the  foAvl  fly  on  the  earth  under  the 
firmament  of  heaven."  The  Scripture  does  not  say  that  the 
foAvl  were  produced  from  the  water. 

Ver.  22.  Jihdtrpli/. — As  a  higher  species  of  being  than  all  the 
former,  these  are  honoured  Avitli  an  especial  blessing.  It  is  re- 
markable that  land  animals,  which  stand  nearer  to  man  than  the 
foregoing,  follow  after  the  heavenly  bodies  :  the  animals,  as  en- 
dowed Avith  a  certain  intelligence  and  Avill — Avith  a  soul,  if  not  a 


GENESIS  I.  25,  20.  23 

spirit — stand  above  all  inanimate  creation.  Such  a  gradation  of 
created  things  is  one  which  Holy  Scripture  alone  recognises,  and 
is  unknown  to  heathenism. 

Ver.  25.  Kind. — The  higher  kinds  of  animals  were  from  the 
first  designed  for  man's  use.  The  position  of  the  creatures  in 
their  order,  as  here  pointed  out,  so  entirely  rests  on  the  original 
creation,  that  man  has  never  attained  to  tame  any  fresh  kind  of 
animal.  All  the  domestic  animals  have  come  down  to  us  from 
the  first  times,  and  most  probably  were  never  wild  ;  but  oidy  simi- 
lar species,  and  degenerate  branches  of  the  same  species,  have 
been  so  ;  just  as  corn  has  never  been  a  wild  plant,  and  man  has 
never  been  able  to  discover  any  kind  of  vegetable  which  he 
could  cultivate  and  use  in  the  same  way. 

Ver.  26.  Make. — God  takes  counsel  with  Himself  that  lie 
may  create  the  most  perfect  of  all  earthly  creatures.  We  are  to 
understand  by  this  mode  of  expression  that  with  man  a  ne^", 
and  indeed  the  highest,  order  of  creatures  begins.  By  God  say- 
ing, "  Let  r«5,"  etc.  (cf.  ch.  iii.  22,  One  of  us),  undoubtedly  allu- 
sion is  intended  to  a  plurality  in  the  Godhead,  to  which,  in  a 
later  chapter,  the  "  Angel  of  the  Lord,"  who  is  different  from 
God  the  Loi'd,  and  yet  One  with  Him,  even  more  clearly  points. 
Before  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  independently  of  it,  God 
was  love ;  and  in  order  to  love,  must  He  have  an  object  of 
knowledge  and  love,  as  well  as  an  eternal  personal  bond  which 
united  Him  with  the  object  of  His  eternal  love.  Therefore  the 
greatest  Avork  of  Plis  eternal  love — the  creation  of  man,  whom  He 
can  love,  and  who  shall  be  able  both  to  know  and  \o\q  Him — this 
is  a  fitting  subject  of  consultation  between  the  Father  and  the 
Son. 

Image. — "  After  God  had  said,  '  Let  us  make,'  etc.,  He  imme- 
diately adds,  'Let  them  have  dominion,'  etc.,  in  order  that  we 
may  understand  man's  resemblance  to  the  Divine  image  to  con- 
sist in  that  particular  in  which  he  is  su})erior  to  the  irrational 
brutes,  and  that  is — in  reason,  or  knowledge,  or  mind,  or  what- 
ever else  we  may  most  properly  call  it.  And  so  the  Apostle 
(Col.  iii.  10)  says,  'Be  ye  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  minds, 
and  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  of 
(iod,  after  the  image  of  Him  who  created  him  ;'  and  thereby 
he  declares  to  us  very  clearly  by  this  how  far  man  is  created 
after  the  image  of  God,  viz.,  not  in  respect  to  the  bodily  linca- 


24  GENESIS  I.  26. 

ments,  but  in  respect  to  the  invisible  form  of  tlie  enlightened 
soul." — St  Augustine.  Holy  Scripture  speaks  of  God's  image 
in  man  in  two  senses.  On  the  one  hand,  we  understand  the 
spiritual,  moral,  intellectual  part  of  his  being,  which  man  cannot 
lose  (ch.  V.  1  ;  ch.  ix.  6 ;  cf.  St  Matt.  xxii.  21).  The  capacity 
to  know  God,  and  to  love  Him  when  known,  and  through  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  God  to  become  partaker  of  the  highest 
blessedness, — this  makes  the  soul  of  man  a  mirror  of  the  Deity, 
and  distinguishes  him  from  the  brutes.  Hence  follows  his  capa- 
city of  acting  not  simply  in  obedience  to  what  is  pleasant  or  un- 
pleasant to  the  senses, — his  capacity  of  acting  in  obedience  to  the 
Divine  law,  his  free-will,  and  his  accountableness  should  he  not 
so  act ;  hence  follows  the  capacity  of  improvement  and  advance, 
both  as  regards  the  human  race  as  a  whole,  and  the  individual 
man.  By  means  of  reason,  which  is  one  with  freedom,  and  capa- 
ble of  an  ever-progressive  advance,  man  is  lord  of  nature  ;  and 
"  the  highest  aim,"  says  St  Anselm,  "  of  rational  beings  is  this — 
to  ea:press,  by  act  of  the  will,  that  image  which  the  Creator  has 
impressed  on  them  by  the  gift  of  this  faculty  of  obedience." 
This  image  of  God  in  man  (i.  e.,  this  faculty  of  knowing  and 
loving  God,  and  of  free-will)  "cannot  be  destroyed  even  in  hell ; 
it  can  burn,  but  cannot  be  consumed — it  can  be  tormented,  but 
not  destroyed,"  says  St  Bernard.  If  it  could  cease,  then  would 
cease  also  the  feeling  of  sin  and  its  punishment,  and  thus  the 
very  punishment  of  the  lost.  But  Holy  Scripture  speaks  also  of 
an  image  of  God  which  man  has  lost  by  sin,  and  to  which  he  is 
renewed  through  Christ  (see  Eph.  iv.  24;  Col.  iii.  10;  cf. 
Eccles.  vii.  29) ;  and  therefore  this  renewal  is  also  called  "a  new 
creature."  God  has  not  merely  created  man  with  the  poicer  to 
know  and  love  Him,  and  free  to  choose  His  laws ;  but  He  has 
likewise  in  the  beginning  actually  revealed  Himself  to  his  know- 
ledge and  love,  and  given  his  will  an  inclination  toward  His  law 
(cf.  ch.  iii.  3).  He  has  created  him  good  and  happy.  Man 
was  also  the  image  of  God  in  this  respect :  that  as  God  possesses 
self-consciousness,  knows  and  loves  Himself,  and  in  this  know- 
ledge and  love  enjoys  the  highest  bliss,  so  also  man,  by  means  of 
his  freedom  and  self-consciousness,  knew  and  loved  God,  and  so 
Avas  happy.  This  image  of  God  in  man  is  altogether  lost  by  sin, 
and  is  only  restored  by  the  preventing,  renewing,  grace  of  God. 
But  between  the  image  of  God  in  man's  nature  which  cannot 


GENESIS  I.  27,  28.  25 

be  erased,  and  tlie  image  which  has  been  lost  by  sin,  there  is  a 
close  connection,  since,  by  man's  alienation  from  God,  he  has 
become  carnal,  Ijrutalised,  and  is  in  danger  of  losing  the  power 
of  knowing  and  loving  God,  if  not  entirely,  yet  in  a  very  great 
degree,  as  is  the  case  with  mankind  everywhere,  and  was  more 
entirely  the  case  with  the  heathen  world.  This  is  eternal 
decay  and  perishableness — eternal  death,  which  is  the  penalty  of 
sin. 

Creepeth. — Even  irrational  nature  praises  their  Creator,  if 
rational  man  knows  that  it  is  well  and  beautifully  ordained.  As 
long  as  man,  in  obedience  to  God,  understood  the  Divine  purpose 
which  had  produced  nature,  he  made  the  irrational  creatures  of 
service  to  himself,  for  whose  use  they  were  created. 

Ver.  27.  In  the  ima/je. — This  great  truth — tlie  summit  of  all 
revelation — is  repeated,  as  if  it  were  a  matter  to  excite  our  won- 
der and  admiration. 

Female. — As  is  frequently  the  case  in  the  book  before  us, 
that  is  only  now  briefly  alluded  to  which,  in  the  following 
chapter,  is  more  fully  discussed.  In  this  history  it  is  the 
chief  object  to  represent  prominently  the  completion  of  the 
whole  creation.  The  history  of  the  oldest  covenant  of  God  with 
man  is  not  yet  touched  on.  The  reader  will  carefully  keep  clear 
of  the  Jewish  fable  (which  has  even  found  admittance  among 
Christians),  viz.,  that  man  was  first  created  man  and, woman  in 
one,  and  afterwards  both  sexes  were  separated.  In  refutation  of 
so  ridiculous  a  notion,  it  is  sufficient  to  obsen-e  that  the  sacred 
Avriter  says,  "  He  created  the  man,  Adam,  after  His  image,  man 
and  woman  created  He  themr 

Ver.  28.  Subdue  it. — These  words  show  it  was  intended  that 
man  should  (jradually  make  iiatm^e  subject  to  himself,  and  that  it 
was  not  all  at  once  subjected  to  him.  Man  obtains  this  domi- 
nion over  the  earth  by  means  of  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
order,  laws,  and  powers  of  nature.  Thus  he  learns  to  make  na- 
ture subserve  his  wants ;  but  he  will  never  attain  to  a  perfect 
control  over  it,  until  he  has  returned  himself  to  the  service  of 
God.  It  is  altogether  a  false  notion  to  suppose  that  our  first 
parents  possessed  a  perfect  insight  into  nature  and  its  powers, 
and  that  nature  in  some  magical  manner  rendered  obedience  to 
this,  and  so  the  necessity  for  work  of  every  kind  was  removed. 
The  first  of  mankind  were  rather  children  in  understanding  ; 


26  GENESIS  I.  30,  31  ;    II.  1,  2. 

and  were  intended  to  arrive  at  maturity  of  mind,  especially 
through  labour  in  the  field  of  nature. 

Ver.  30.  Meat. — As  yet  flesh  was  not  eaten  (of  eh.  ix.  1), 
although  the  permission  to  eat  flesh  when  it  was  necessary  was 
included  in  the  pift  granted  to  man  of  dominion  over  the  beasts. 
The  first  age  up  to  the  flood  was  the  childhood  of  the  human 
race,  in  which  man  partook  of  the  food  of  children.  The  beasts 
were  supported  by  the  same  kind  of  nourishment ;  and  therefore 
at  the  beginning  the  eating  of  flesh  had  not  begun  with  them, 
and  shall  likewise  at  some  time  discontinue.     Is.  xi.  7. 

Ver.  31.  Very  good. — God  had  pronounced  His  approval  of 
the  portions  of  creation  singly,  and  now  in  even  a  higher  degree 
He  pronounces  that  He  is  well  pleased  with  the  whole. 


CHAPTER  n. 


Ver.  1.  Host.- — The  stars  of  heaven  figuratively,  and  the 
angels  properly,  are  often  called  "  the  host  of  heaven  "  (Is.  xl. 
2G;  Jer.  xix.  13;  Zeph.  i.  5 ;  St  Luke  ii.  13).  God  is  there- 
fore "  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  "  Jehovah  Sabaoth."  All  creatures, 
especially  the  highest,  stand  ready  to  "  do  Him  service,"  to  per- 
form His  commands,  and  to  contend  on  His  behalf. 

Ver.  2.  Ended. — The  works  are  said  only  to  be  finished  when 
the  creation  of  them  as  a  whole  is  ended,  and  they  begin  by 
means  of  their  inherent  power  to  live,  to  grow,  and  to  act  on 
each  other. 

God  rested,  inasmuch  as  He  now  ceased  to  create,  although  He 
continues  unceasingly  to  work  in  the  preservation  and  renewal  of 
His  works.  Perfect  rest  and  perfect  activity  are  one  and  the 
same  in  Him:  cf  St  John  v.  17.  But  observe,  "God  rested" 
does  not  merely  mean.  He  ceased  to  create,  as  Exod.  xxxi.  17 
shows.  "He  refreshed  Himself:"  cf  Exod.  xxiii.  12.  This 
strong  human  expression  is,  of  course,  not  applicable  in  the 
sense  of  His  having  become  weary  (cf  Isa.  xl.  28),  but  it  may 
be  well  applied  in  the  sense  of  His  receiving  divine  satisfaction 
in  the  contemplation  of  His  glorious  and  blessed  Avork  ;  and  so, 
after  the  manner  of  an  earnest,  skilful  human  workman.  He  may 


GENESIS  II.  3.  27 

be  said  to  "rest"  after  the  completion  of  His  work.  God,  after 
the  creation  of  the  world,  which  develops  itself  in  time,  lives  also 
with  it  in  time,  without  detraction  from  His  immntabilitv.  By 
means  of  Ilis  love,  He  imparts  hajipiness  to  His  creatures;  and 
from  every  development  of  the  gloiy  which  He  has  bestowed  on 
them  arises  a  heavenly  song  of  praise.  The  Holy  Scripture  knows 
nothing-  of  a  God  who,  in  eternal,  immovable  unchangeable- 
ness,  views  all  things,  past,  present,  and  future,  just  in  the  same 
way,  but  One  who,  after  creating  the  world,  with  man,  its  king, 
partakes  by  means  of  Plis  love  in  the  joy  and  pain  of  His  crea- 
tion, yet  without  diminution  of  His  eternal  blessedness.  At 
length  Pie  suffered  in  the  flesh,  with  and  for  His  creature,  and 
through  suffering  again  returns  to  glory.  "  Christ  also  rested 
in  the  grave  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  passed  the  whole  of  it  in 
sacred  quiet,  after  He  had  finished  all  His  works  on  the  sixth 
day,  since  all  which  was  written  of  Him  Avas  fulfilled  on  the 
cross,  and  He  cried,  '  It  is  finished.'  " — St  Augustine. 

Ver.  3.  Sanctified ;  i.  e.,  He  separated  it  from  the  other  days 
for  Himself,  the  Holy  One,  so  that  everything  which,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Divine  intention,  was  done  on  this  day  might 
bring  with  it  an  especial  sanctification  for  man,  since  "the  Sab- 
bath is  for  man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath."  This  day  was  sanc- 
tified for  man's  use,  in  order  that  on  this  rest-day  of  the  creation 
of  the  world  he  might  be  reminded  of  the  blessed  rest  of  God 
from  His  work,  and  carry  on  his  thoughts  to  that  rest  which 
awaits  himself  when  the  daywork  of  this  world  shall  be  com- 
pleted. Even  fi'om  this  we  may  infer  that  the  Sabbath  celebra- 
tion is  not  an  unconditional  one  ;  that  the  command  of  love 
towards  God  and  our  neighbour  is  before  it ;  and  the  observance 
of  the  Sabbath  ought  to  lead  to  these  duties,  and  to  be  regulated 
by  them  (see  St  Matt.  xii.  7,  8  ;  St  Mark  ii.  27,  28).  In  the 
New  Testament  the  outward  shell  of  this  commandment  is  taken 
away,  and  the  kernel  remains.  It  is  God's  eternal  will  that  we 
in  the  communion  of  the  Church  should  celebrate  holy  days  and 
seasons,  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  have  been  ordained — to 
draw  off' the  soul  from  the  business  of  this  world,  and  to  raise  it 
u})  to  the  calm  contemplation  of  our  heavenly  calling.  \A'ith 
this  object  in  view,  rest  from  labour  is  with  Christians  by  no 
means  a  matter  of  choice,  but  it  is  the  Divine  connnand  of  Him 
who  came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  the  law.    Still,  the  Church 


28  GENESIS  II.  5,  6. 

has  shown  her  freedom  from  subjection  to  mere  ontwarcl  ordi- 
nances, partly  by  the  significant  chani;;e  of  the  day  of  rest  from 
the  last  day  of  the  week  to  the  first,  which  has  been  blessed  and 
sanctified  by  Christ's  resm'rection,  who  has  entered  into  His  eternal 
rest,  that  He  might  prepare  places  for  us  in  His  Father's  house, — 
partly  by  the  setting  apart  of  this  day  for  assembling  together  iii 
divine  worship, — partly  by  the  appointment  of  other  festivals  be- 
sides this,  and,  lastly,  by  the  release  of  Christians  from  the  obli- 
gation of  many  external  observances,  as,  e.  g.,  Exod.  xxxv.  3. 
Whether  the  celebration  of  the  seventh  day  M'as  ordained  at  the 
same  time  with  the  revelation  of  the  history  of  the  creation,  or 
whether  it  was  first  given  to  the  people  of  Israel  together  with 
the  other  commandments  of  the  law,  is  involved  in  much  uncer- 
tainty, though  the  latter  supposition  is  the  more  probable  one. 
At  all  events,  we  discover  no  trace  of  the  celebration  of  the  Sab- 
bath in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  still  less  among  any  heathen  na- 
tions. The  division  of  time  into  weeks,  which  we  find  among 
some  of  them,  might  be  a  regulation  according  to  the  quarters 
of  the  moon. 

Ver.  5.  Grew. — This  verse  should  rather  be  translated,  "  And 
every  plant  was  not  jet  in  the  field,  and  every  herb  had  not  yet 
grown  in  the  field,"  and  ought  not  to  be  considered  as  belonging 
to  the  preceding  verse,  as  a  new  paragraph  begins  here — the 
history  of  the  earth  and  of  man.  It  does  not  mean  to  say  that 
plants  and  herbs  did  not  yet  exist,  since  the  creation  of  the  veget- 
able kingdom  has  already  been  narrated,  cli.  i.  11 ;  but — the 
beginnings  only  of  all  things,  and  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  espe- 
cially, existed  because  there  was  no  man  to  till  the  ground ;  then 
God  created  man,  etc.  In  this  verse,  in  which  man  is  repre- 
sented, not,  as  in  the  preceding  chapter,  merely  as  a  portion  of 
the  creation,  but  in  his  personal  covenant  relation  to  God,  the 
destination  of  all  earthly  things  for  man's  use,  and  of  man  himself 
to  be  the  workman  on  the  earth,  is  very  clearly  pointed  out. 
The  planting  of  the  garden  (ver.  8)  first  takes  place. 

Ver.  G.  Ground. — It  appears  that  at  that  time  it  had  not 
rained,  but  that  all  moisture  for  the  nourishment  of  plants  and 
herbs  was  supplied  by  means  of  dew.  The  choice  of  the  rain- 
bow, as  a  sign  of  the  covenant  with  Noah  (ch.  viii.),  agrees  with 
this  description.  Primeval  nature,  as  compared  with  what  she 
afterwards  became,  appears  to  have  been  of  a  more  tender  and 


GENESIS  II.  7.  29 

delicate  character.  We  perceive  from  wliat  is  here  said  tliat  the 
phuits  and  herbs  did  not  suddenly  slioot  forth  into  maturity  ; 
but  tliat  tlie  fruit-bearing  seeds  which  were  laid  in  the  earth  were 
brought  to  perfection  by  rain  and  b}^  cultivation. 

Dust  of  the  ground. — In  the  Hebrew  the  first  man  is  simj)ly 
called  "  Adam,"  i.  e,,  the  man,  since  Adam  is  both  the  word  for 
the  human  race,  and  for  the  first  man.  In  him  was  the  whole 
race  continued,  which  is  therefore  styled  "  the  children  of  Adam," 
or  merely  "  Adam,"  in  the  same  way  as  the  Israelites  were  called 
either  "  the  children  of  Israel,"  or  simply  "  Israel."  The  word 
"  Adam"  has  the  same  root  and  signification  with  "  Adama," 
earth.  Both  words  mean  "  red  ;"  and  by  the  connection  of  the 
two  words  it  is  clearly  intimated  that  "the  man"  was  "  earthy," 
made  out  of  the  earth.  There  is  a  deep  truth  contained  in  the 
declaration  that  God  made  man  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth  ;  for 
it  expressly  represents  to  us,  that  at  the  outset  he  was  a  por- 
tion of  the  creatures  which  belong  to  this  earth,  and  in  his  body 
was  himself  of  an  earthly  kind.  It  was  ordained  that  nature 
should  be  governed  by  one  of  a  like,  yet,  at  the  same  time,  of  a 
higher  order  than  itself,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  appointed 
that  mankind  should  be  ruled  by  a  God-man  (cf.  Rom.  viii.  22). 
"  The  first  man  was  of  the  earth,  earthy,"  1  Cor.  xv.  47;  and, 
therefore,  could  only  become,  according  to  God's  purpose,  hea- 
venly, spiritual,  through  "the  second  Man,  the  Lord  from 
heaven."  It  is  moreover  to  be  observed,  that  God  creates  the 
body  only  out  of  the  earth,  while  the  soul  is  breathed  into  it, 
Avhich  exactly  takes  place  at  the  birth  of  every  one  of  us.  The 
soul  is  not  that  which  has  formed  the  body  for  itself;  but  body 
and  soul  arc  both  called  into  existence  by  God's  creative  will  and 
purpose. 

Ver.  7.  Breath  of  life. — Breath,  on  which  depends  the  life  of 
the  body,  is  an  emblem  of  the  Divine  life  which  was  breatlied 
into  man.  Indeed,  it  is  the  breath  of  God  by  means  of  which 
everything  is  preserved  In  life  (Ps.  civ.  30).  Yet  this  especial 
breatiiing  of  breath  into  man  points  out  that  the  personal  life  of 
man  proceeds  from  God,  and  is  related  to  God. 

A  living  soul — a  living,  spiritual  being.  As  in  the  beginning 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  were  created  in  contrast  one  with  the 
other,  and  yet  with  the  purpose  of  mutually  acting  on  each 
other,  so  in  the  case  of  man  the  body  was  created  out  of  the 


30  GENESIS  II.  8,  9. 

(lust,  the  spirit  was  given  by  God.  Both  were  God's  creation, 
so  there  coukl  be  no  hostile  opposition  between  the  two  ;  still, 
from  the  very  first,  the  duty  was  imposed  on  man,  to  bring  into 
subjection  the  Avorld  without  him,  and  to  subjugate  his  own 
flesh  more  and  more  to  the  spirit — to  rule,  to  sanctify,  to  glorify 
it  through  the  spirit  Man  was  to  have  not  merely  "  a  living 
soul,"  but  a  "  life-giving  spirit,"  as  Christ  the  second  Adam 
had,  and  as  all  believers  have  received  from  Christ  (cf.  1  Cor. 
XV.  47).  By  means  of  "  the  dust,"  out  of  which  he  was  cre- 
ated, man  belonged  to  the  earth,  and  so  was  partaker  of  the 
perishable :  he  carried  with  him  a  natural  life,  as  the  other 
animals  do,  which  as  distinct  beings,  perish — as  races,  are  conti- 
nued ;  therefore  he  had  a  capability  of  dying.  But  through  the 
spirit,  derived  from  God,  he  possessed  an  unperishing  per-  ■ 
sonality,  and  so  he  was  endowed  with  a  capability  of  immortalitv. 
The  dust,  out  of  which  he  was  created,  as  well  as  the  earth  ' 
itself,  was  made  for  a  higher  life  of  glory.  Life  and  death  were 
placed  before  him,  and  he  chose  death. 

Ver.  8.  Edeji  means  "  pleasantness,"  "  loveliness." — Towards 
the  east,  in  this  delightsome  region,  lay  the  garden.  We  are 
accustomed  to  call  it  "  Paradise "  (after  a  word  probably  of 
Armenian  origin),  as  it  is  called  in  the  old  Greek  and  Latin 
translations. 

Put  the  man. — The  labour  in  a  garden  in  a  mild  climate  is  the 
easiest  possible,  and  the  most  suitable  to  the  childhood  of  man's 
race.  Here  his  powers  could  prepare  themselves  for  severer 
labours.  The  oldest  known  fruit-trees,  the  domestic  animals, 
corn,  were  legacies  from  this  primeval  period. 

Ver.  9.  7ree  of  life. — Man  was  created  not  subject  to  death, 
but  capable  of  dying.  The  tree  of  life,  which  before  the  fall  he 
was  permitted  to  taste,  was  meant  for  his  sustenance.  Man,  in 
his  infant  condition,  required  some  sensible  corporeal  assurance 
of  immortality,  and  the  tree  of  life  afforded  him  immortality,  if 
not  by  its  own  immediate  power,  yet  by  virtue  of  the  promise 
imparted  to  it.  But  man  could  only  continue  to  taste  of  this 
tree  of  life,  so  long  as  he,  by  the  obedience  of  faith,  remained  in 
communion  with  God. 

Ti^ee  of  knoioledge  of  good  and  evil. — In  order  to  understand 
the  whole  account,  it  is  of  great  importance  that  we  should 
rightly  comprehend  what  "  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil" 


GENESIS.  II.  9.  31 

liei'o,  and  cli.  iii.  5,  22,  means.     Not  to  know  wliat  is  good  and 
evil,  elsewhere  (Deut.  i.  39)  signifies  a  state  of  childhood — the 
opposite  to  the  wisdom  of  angels  (2  Sam.  xiv.  17),  and  of  God 
Himself  (eh.  iii.  5,  22).     In  the  first  place,  then,  this  knowing 
or  understanding,  in  its  fidl  scriptural  sense,  includes  "  choice," 
will,  and  action  (cf.  Is.  vii.  16,  "  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose  the 
good"')  :  1  Cor.  viii.  3.     Knowledge  of  good  and  evil  is  therefore 
the  conscious  freedom  of  the  will.     Now,  it  certainly  was  not 
God's  will  that  man  should  remain  excluded  from  this.     Nay, 
the  contrary  is  clear,  from  the  very  fact  that  God  had  created 
man   after  His  own  image, — had  committed  to  his   charge  the 
earth,  to  "  subdue  it,"  and  to  become  in  that  respect  "  as  God  ;" 
that  he,  with  clear  knowledge  of  the  Divine  law,  and  with  firm 
decision  of  his  own  will,  should   know  the  evil  and  reject  it — 
should  know  the  good  and  choose  it ;  and  thus  should  emerge 
from  the  condition  of  infantine  innocence  into  the  state  of  angelic 
innocence.     For  the  working  out  of  this  transition,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  he  should  possess  the  power  to  will  otherwise  than 
God's  will.     The  command  to  abstain  from  one  tree  in  the  gar- 
den afforded  this  possibility.     Two  ways  offered  themselves  to 
man's  choice,  in  order  to  attain  to  this  conscious  freedom  of  will. 
The   right  way   was,  by   means  of  this  command,   to  become 
acquainted  with  the    temptation    to  evil,  and  to  overcome   it. 
Thereby  would  man,  without  experiencing  either  sin  or  death, 
have  passed  into  that  condition  in  which  the  possibility  of  sin- 
ning was  as  far  removed  from  him  as  from  the  angels — nay, 
from  God  Himself.     So,  subsequently,  Christ  the  second  Adam, 
by  overcoming  all  incentives  to  evil,  passed  out  of  the  condition 
of  temptation  (the  possibility  of  sinning)  into  the  condition  of 
Divine  perfection.     Besides  this  right  way,  there  was  presented 
before  Adam  a  wrong  way,  ver.  3  :  that  he  should  exchange  the 
true  freedom  of  guiding  himself  in  accordance  with  God's  law 
without  enticement  to  evil,  for  the  false  freedom  of  regulating 
himself  accordino;  to  his  own  changeable  inclination.     He  was 
not  tempted  by  the  want  of  anything  to  transgress  the  law,  since 
he  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  rich  abundance  of  God's  gifts  ; 
he  was  not  tempted  by  fleshly  passions,  since  these  did  not  exist 
before  the  fall :  but  simply  was  he  tempted  by  the  desire  of  self- 
exaltation,  and  the  endeavour  to  attain  a  false  inde})endence. 
So  soon  as  he  acquired  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  his  in- 


32  GENESIS  II.  10-U. 

iiocence  was  lost.  He  became  acquainted  with  evil  from  his 
own  experience.  He  became  in  a  certain  sense  his  own  master, 
and  was  in  this  respect  "  as  God  ;"  yet  at  the  same  time  he 
became  a  slave  to  sin  and  the  flesh,  and  subject  to  temporal  and 
eternal  death.  The  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  gave 
therefore  to  man  what  its  name  imports,  yet  to  his  great  hurt, 
until,  by  God's  interposition  in  the  work  of  redemption,  this  hurt 
was  changed  into  a  great  gain.  The  tree  of  knowledge  was 
placed  by  God  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  in  some  conspicuous 
place,  by  the  side  of  the  tree  of  life.  So  might  man,  in  the  very- 
place  where  he  received  the  greatest  of  all  God's  favours — immor- 
tality, practise  the  duty  of  obedience.  We  must  not  for  a  mo- 
ment suppose  that  the  tree  of  good  and  evil  was  in  itself  injurious 
or  brought  out  of  the  kingdom  of  the  devil. 

Ver.  10.  Thence ;  i.  e.,  in  Eden  there  was  one  stream ;  but  on 
its  exit  from  the  garden  on  the  land,  it  was  divided. 

Ver.  14.  Euphrates. — In  order  to  know  the  situation  of  "the 
garden,"  which  is  here  described  to  us  from  names  and  facts 
which  were  familiar  to  the  ancients,  we  must  begin  from  those 
that  are  known  to  us.  The  fourth  river,  called  in  Hebrew 
"  Phrath,"  is  that  which  often  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
which  we  call  Euphrates.  The  Hiddekel  is  the  Tigris.  It 
occurs  under  this  name  in  Dan.  x.  4,  and  is  still  called,  with  a 
slight  variation  of  its  original  name,  in  Aramaic  "  Diglat,"  in 
Arabic  "  Didschlat ;"  it  flows  to  the  east  of  Assyria,  under  which 
name  is  to  be  understood  the  northern  part  of  Mesopotamia, 
which  belongs  to  Assyria.  The  Pison  (Phischon)  is  more 
closely  described  by  the  name  of  the  land  of  gold  and  precious 
stone,  Chavila,  round  which  it  flows.  It  seems  to  have  been  the 
Phasis  of  the  ancients,  which  rises  in  the  mountains  of  Armenia 
(the  Moschick),  and  flows  out  of  Cholchis  (which  may  easily  be 
the  same  with  Chavila),  and  empties  itself  into  the  Black  Sea. 
It  is  still  called  Keou,  or  Phasch,  by  the  Turks,  as  the  fortress  at 
its  mouth  is  called  Poti  or  Phasch.  This  ri^■er  was  renowned 
among  the  ancients  as  abounding  in  gold,  and  from  thence, 
according  to  the  Greek  fable,  the  Argonauts  brought  the  golden 
fleece.  The  land  was  distant,  and  not  well  known  ;  for  that 
reason  it  is  here  more  circumstantially  described.  The  Hebrew 
word  Bedolach,  Greek  Bdellium,  describes  apparently  a  kind  of 
sweet-smelhng  resin,  in  berries  like  the  manna  (Num.  xi.  7). 


GENESIS  II.  15-17.  33 

For  "  onyx"  the  Hebrew  word  is  Scholiam,  "  a  precious  stone" 
—  either  that  or  the  emerald. — The  second  river,  "  Gihon," 
or  Gichon,  is  the  most  difficult  to  decide  on,  as  there  were  and 
still  are  many  rivers  which  bear  this  name,  "  the  breaking  forth." 
The  Arabians  still  call  by  this  name  a  large  river,  which  de- 
scends from  the  Tibetanian  high  mountains,  and  towards  its 
source  is  designated  Kolscha  ;  lower  down,  Amu.  The  ancients 
named  it  the  Oxus  ;  but  the  Aras  also,  which  flows  from  the 
Armenian  mountains  into  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  which  was  called 
by  the  ancients  Araxes,  is  now  the  Dschihun-E-as.  In  the  case 
of  both  of  these  rivers,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  how  either  could 
encompass  the  whole  land  of  Kusch,  i.  e.,  Ethiopia,  as  this  points 
out  to  a  country  which  lay  to  the  south,  even  if  it  does  neces- 
sarily imply  Africa.  The  far  East  must  likewise  be  included  in 
this  description.  In  any  case,  we  must  suppose  Eden  to  be  a 
district  in  which  the  Euphrates,  Tigris,  Phasis,  and  (perhaps) 
Araxes,  could  rise  from  one  source  before  the  nature  of  the 
countries  was  changed  by  the  great  flood.  This  district  can 
only  be  the  western  highland  of  Asia,  Armenia.  Here,  where 
after  the  flood  Noah  left  the  ark,  was,  according  to  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, situated  Eden,  the  cradle  of  the  human  race. 

Ver.  15.  To  keep  it. — From  the  beginning  God  created  man 
for  labour,  and  for  such  a  labour  as  might  gradually  subdue  the 
earth,  at  the  same  time  that  man  learnt  to  know  his  powers. 
The  first  labour  was  the  peaceful,  ennobling,  improving  one  of 
garden  work.  We  see  from  the  fact,  that  man  Avas  appointed 
"  to  dress  it  and  keep  it,"  that  the  resistance  of  nature  was  to  be 
overcome  by  man,  and  all  its  powers  of  injury  to  be  subjugated 
in  order  that  it  might  become  useful  and  beneficial.  This  oppo- 
sition of  nature  to  man  existed  at  the  first ;  only  it  did  offer  then, 
as  it  frequently  does  now,  an  irresistible  obstacle  to  his  eftbrts. 

Ver.  17.  Die, — i.  e.,  thou  shalt  surely  become  subject  to 
death,  shalt  become  mortal,  as  the  following  history  shows. 
When  God  had  spoken  the  irreversible  judgment,  it  stood  before 
Him  as  already  accomplished.  "  Death"  signifies  here,  as  ch. 
iii.  19  shows,  ])rimarily,  the  death  of  the  body.  But  even  in  the 
Old  Testament  (though  more  clearly  in  the  Now  Testament)  is 
the  term  "  destruction,"  "  misery,"  applied  to  the  soul,  and 
therefore  signifies  eternal  as  well  as  temporal  death,  in  the  same 
way  that   "hfe"  betokens  eternal  blessedness  (Prov.  ii.  18;  ch. 

C 


34:  GENESIS  II.  18. 

:xi.  19 ;  ch.  xiv.  12 ;  cf.  especially  the  figurative  expression, 
Prov.  iii.  18,  "  the  tree  of  life")  ;  and  so,  as  the  view  was  more 
directed  to  the  life  beyond  the  grave,  death  appeared  also  as 
"condemnation"  (Eccles.  xi.  9;  Dan.  xii.  2).  "If  the  question 
is  asked,  What  kind  of  death  God  here  means,  we  must  gather 
the  explanation  from  the  contrary — viz.,  what  was  the  kind  of 
life  forfeited.  It  was  in  every  respect  a  happy  one :  the  life 
embraced  equally  body  and  soul.  In  man's  soul  prevailed  right 
knowledge,  and  a  proper  moderation  of  all  desires ;  his  bodily 
powers  were  perfect,  and  so  he  was  entirely  free  from  death.  His 
life  on  earth,  indeed,  would  only  have  been  a  temporal  one  ;  but 
he  would  have  passed  on  to  heaven  without  pain  or  dying.  But 
he  dreads  death  ;  because,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  a  kind  of  anni- 
hilation of  the  body ;  next,  because  the  soul  feels  the  curse  of 
God  ;  and,  lastly,  because  the  judgment  of  death  is  alienation 
from  God.  Hence  it  is  that,  under  the  word  death,  is  compre- 
hended all  that  is  miserable ;  and  to  this  Adam  by  his  fall  became 
subject.  As  soon,  too,  as  he  fell  away  from  God,  who  is  the 
source  of  life,  he  lost  his  former  position,  and  was  made  to  feel 
that  life  apart  from  God  is  only  misery,  the  prey  of  corruption, 
and  so  as  bad  as  death  itself.  Accordingly,  man's  situation 
after  the  fall  was  rightly  called  death.  The  wretchedness  of 
soul  and  body  during  the  life  on  earth  is,  as  it  were,  the  vesti- 
bule of  death,  until  death  comes  and  follows  it  up.  As  soon  as 
the  judgment  was  pronounced  on  him,  Adam  came  under  the 
dominion  of  death,  until  grace,  which  followed  thereon, 
brought  the  means  of  salvation." — Calvin. 

Ver.  18.  Not  good. — Above,  it  is  said,  "  God  saw  all  that  He 
had  made,  and,  behold,  it  was  very  good  :"  here  it  is  not  good,  for 
no  other  reason  than  because  all  was  not  yet  completed.  The 
narrative  here  goes  back  to  the  sixth  day  of  creation. 

Meet  for  him. — This  consultation  of  God  with  Himself  is 
similar  to  that  of  ch.  i.  26.  The  importance  of  the  new  creation 
is  enhanced  by  this  mode  of  speech.  Marriage,  as  a  manner  of 
union  altogether  different  from  that  which  prevailed  in  the 
lower  creation,  was  entirely  a  fresh  ordinance  of  God,  and  had 
not  any  existence  among  the  rest  of  God's  creatures.  The  man 
is  first  created ;  then  the  woman,  to  be  his  helper,  in  order  to 
show  that  not  the  man  and  woman  combined  constitute  one  per- 
fect human  being,  but  the  position  of  the  man  was  an  indepen- 


GENESIS  II.  20,  21.  35 

dent  one,  tliat  of  tlie  woman  for  tlie  sake  of  man.  In  tlie  ordi- 
nance of  marriage  is  typified  the  relation  of  God  to  His  reason- 
able creatures. 

Ver.  20.  Help  meet. — From  seeing  all  the  boasts  after  their 
manner  in  the  enjoyment  of  fellowship,  man  was  made  to  feel 
the  want  of  communion  with  his  equal ;  and  by  the  fact  that  he 
perceived  this  need  so  keenly,  is  it  made  evident  to  him  that  no 
mere  transient  carnal  union  could  satisfy  his  longings.  This 
verse  points  out  to  us  the  origin  of  language.  The  animals  are 
capable  of  receiving  from  the  surrounding  objects  only  the  im- 
pressions of  pleasure  or  pain,  and  of  expressing  these  merely  l)y 
unmeaning  sounds;  man,  on  the  contrary,  from  his  being  cre- 
ated in  the  likeness  of  God,  feels  the  desire  to  understand  the 
Divine  idea  which  is  impressed  on  His  creatures,  and  to  desig- 
nate them  in  accordance  with  his  comprehension  of  their  design. 
Thus,  then,  when  God  brought  the  beasts  before  Adam,  out  of 
the  conception  in  his  mind  arose  of  itself — words,  speech.  This 
narrative  proves,  in  a  striking  manner,  that  language  did  not 
fix'st  arise  as  a  means  of  intercommunion  of  thought,  but  was  the 
necessary  embodying  of  the  ideas  which  existed  in  the  human 
soul.  Still  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  Adam's  insight  into  the 
character  of  the  animals  was  a  perfect  comprehension  of  the 
secrets  of  nature ;  but  it  is  rather  to  be  regarded  as  the  pure, 
simple,  lively  view  of  an  innocent  child  full  of  undeveloped  depth 
of  mind.  That  the  beasts,  all  of  them,  come  to  Adam,  is  a  sign 
that  their  present  natural  wildness  did  not  then  exist ;  but 
their  nature  was  hke  that  described,  Isa.  xi.  6,  as  their  future 
condition  on  the  glorified  earth.  The  same  is  seen  from  the 
colloquy  of  the  serpent  with  the  woman. 

Ver.  21.  Deep  sleep. — "What  happened  to  him  at  this  time 
was  neither  a  mere  trance  nor  an  ordinary  sleep  ;  but,  as  the  wise 
and  skilful  Creator  of  our  nature  designed  to  take  from  him  a 
rib,  He  caused  a  deep  sleep,  like  a  trance,  to  fall  upon  him,  and 
as  by  a  weight  to  keep  him  down,  in  order  that  he  might  not 
feel  pain,  and  on  that  account  entertain  a  dislike  towards  her 
who  was  formed  out  of  his  side." — St  Chrysostom.  Although 
this  sleep  was  something  of  an  unusual  kind,  yet  we  must  not 
imagine  that  sleep  itself  was  a  consequence  of  sin.  Certainly  it 
is  a  curtailment  of  the  natural  life,  but  was,  with  the  alternations 
of  day  and  night,  ordained  for  the  whole  creation,  and  by  no 


36  GENESIS  11.  22. 

means  contemporary  witli  the  fall.  The  Jewish  fable,  that 
Adam,  before  tlie  fall,  had  conceived  a  carnal  appetite  (from  his 
observation  of  the  conduct  of  the  animals),  and  that  this  sleep 
arose  from  a  sort  of  sensual  intoxication,  and  that  God,  to 
ward  off  a  oreater  evil,  separated  the  man  from  the  woman — 
destroys  the  whole  meaning  and  coherence  of  this  most  in- 
comparable narrative,  is  directly  opposed  to  Scripture  (1  Tim. 
ii.  14),  and  ought,  therefore,  never  to  have  been  rej^eated  by 
Christians. 

Ver.  22.  Brought  lier. — "  With  the  sleep,  a  trance  likewise 
fell  upon  him,  so  that  he  did  not  feel  what  had  taken  place. 
When  we  hear,  then,  that  he,  on  sight  of  the  woman,  clearly  de- 
clares what  has  happened,  we  must  be  convinced  that  he  utters 
these  words  from  a  prophetic  gift,  and  had  been  taught  by  the 
Holy  Ghost." — St  Chrysostom.  What  is  here  narrated  of  the 
creation  of  the  woman  points  out  the  peculiarity  which  exists  in 
the  union  of  man  and  woman.  In  the  case  of  the  animals,  both 
sexes  could  be  created  side  by  side  ;  in  the  case  of  man,  however, 
where  marriage  is  intended  to  be  a  comnmnion  of  soul  in  the 
service  of  God,  an  union  of  authority  and  obedience  on  the  one 
side,  and  of  all-compensating  love  on  the  other — where  the 
education  and  training  of  the  fruits  of  marriage  for  God's 
service  and  kingdom,  the  ordering  and  governance  of  the  house 
and  of  the  earth,  formed  a  main  part  of  the  task  imposed — 
there  must  the  origin  of  the  woman  point  to  the  indissoluble 
union  by  which  two  persons  become  one  until  their  life's 
end.  The  woman  was  taken  out  of  the  man  (and  out  of  that 
part  of  him  which  lay  nearest  to  his  heart),  in  order  to  show  that 
this  union  of  soul  in  love  extended  to  the  unity  of  the  flesh  like- 
wise— embraced  all,  both  within  and  without,  and,  as  a  Divine  or- 
dinance, was  indissoluble.  The  coarse,  animal-like  man  regards 
his  children  only  as  his  flesh  and  blood,  and  considers  his  con- 
nection with  them  closer  than  with  his  wife  ;  but  the  Word  of 
God  teaches  him  that  his  wife  is  his  own  flesh  and  blood,  and 
that  God's  appointment  has  made  her  so  entirely  one  with  him- 
self, that  if  he  hates  his  wife  he  hates  his  own  flesh  :  Eph.  v.  25. 
Here,  then,  we  find  in  the  beginning  of  Scripture  a  doctrine 
taught  concerning  marriage  (less,  indeed,  by  Avord  than  by  a 
Divine  action,  as  M'as  most  suitable  to  the  infant  age  of  the 
world),  which,  on  account  of  the  hardness  of  men  s  hearts,  was 


GENESIS  II.  23-25  ;    III.  37 

afterwards  withdrawn  for  a  time,  and  only  again  restored  in  its 
fulness  by  Christ :  St  Matt.  xix. 

Ver.  23.  Woman. — In  Ileb.  the  man  "  Isch,"  the  woman 
"  Ischa." 

Ver.  24.  Leave  father  and  mother. — These  are  the  words  of 
Moses,  and  also  of  God  ;  but  not  Adam's.  They  would  be  more 
correctly  expressed, — "  Therefore  may  a  man  leave  his  father 
and  mother,  but  he  shall  cleave  to  his  wife,  and  they  shall  be  one 
flesh."  There  will  be  times  and  circumstances  when  a  man  is 
permitted,  nay,  is  commanded,  to  leave  his  father  and  mother ; 
but  his  wife  is  he  never  permitted  to  leave — they  both  shall  be 
one.  This  is  not  said  of  the  woman,  because  she  already  by  her 
marriage  has  left  father  and  mother,  and  become  subject  to  her 
husband.  Here  it  is  not  spoken  of  leaving  father  and  mother 
for  the  sake  of  marrying,  but  of  a  leaving  after  marriage. 

Ver.  25.  Not  ashamed. — So  long  as  man  keeps  his  body  in 
perfect  obedience  to  tlie  spirit,  and  is  thei'efore  free  from  all  in- 
ordinate concupiscence,  no  lust  can  arise,  which  makes  a  hiding 
of  himself  necessaiy,  and  so  no  shame.  At  the  same  time,  this 
circumstance  plainly  shows  that  the  marriage  relation  is  in  itself 
perfectly  pure,  and  that  the  abstinence  from  it  is  by  no  means 
a  higher  and  more  sinless  state ;  still,  the  full  restoration  of  this 
original  piu'ity  is  not  to  be  looked  for  so  long  as  sin  reigns  in  our 
mortal  members  and  human  sinfulness  continues. 


CHAPTER  in. 

The  history  of  the  fall  stands  in  close  connection  with  what  pre- 
cedes it,  and  is  to  be  understood  literally,  as  all  the  foregoing  ac- 
count. The  exact  designation  of  the  situation  of  the  garden  of 
Eden,  the  appointment  of  man  to  keep  it,  both  show  us  that  we 
have  to  do  with  earthly  relations,  and  are  transported  to  the 
childhood  of  the  human  race.  With  childlike  inexperience,  our 
first  parents  believe  that  in  the  serpent  they  see  only  an  animal 
to  whom  the  gift  of  speech  is  granted.  Verses  1  and  15  prove 
that  in  the  narrative  a  real  animal  is  intended.  We  are,  like- 
wise, not  to  be  surprised  at  finding  that  (as  in  the  preceding 


38  GENESIS  III. 

chapter)  God  walks  in  the  garden  in  human  form,  and  converses 
with  Adam  and  Eve.     We  find  throughout  the  whole  of  Holy 
Scripture  that  God  has  ever  condescended  to  human  wants,  and 
ordered  the  revelations  in  accordance  with  them.     But  in  later 
periods  the  visible  manifestations  in  human  shape  become  less 
frequent  and  altogether  cease,  while  miracles  take  their  place, 
which',  at  first,   are  addressed  nakedly  to  the  outward  senses, 
until,  in  the  New  Testament,  these  also  become  of  a  more  hidden 
character.     The  sensible  and  the  visible  decrease,  the  inner  per- 
ception increases.     Man  is  put  to  the  test  whether  he  will  out  of 
free  love  obey  God  and  depend  on  Him,  and  overcome  evil. 
Thus  would  he  rise  to  a  higher  condition.     But  the  desire  tempts 
him  to  know  and  decide  for  himself  what  is  good  and  what  evil, 
instead  of  renouncing  his  own  will  from  the  love  of  God.     The 
temptation  assails  him  to  be  as  God,  i.e.,  independent — his  own 
master.     In  this  consists,  according  to  the  Scripture  narrative, 
the  essence,  the  real  character  of  the  first  sin,  the  origin  of  all 
after  sin  of  mankind.     The  desire  to  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit 
follows  on  the  inward  alienation  from  God ;  and  so,  while  the 
sin  was  in  its  real  character  and  origin  so  great  and  fearful,  its 
outward  form,  the  act  of  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  has  the 
character  of  a  childlike  disobedience — in  accordance  with  man's 
condition — though  even  then  we  must  not  attempt  to  extenuate 
the  nature  of  the  sin.     The  immediate  consequence  of  his  fall 
was  to  awaken  the  feeling  of  shame — i.e.,  the  consciousness  that 
now  his  soul,  alienated  from  God,  has  lost  its  control  over  the 
flesh.     This  feeling  of  shame  arouses  consciousness  of  guilt,  fear 
of  appearing  in  the  presence  of  God.     The  serpent,  as  a  creature 
of  God,  has  in  itself  nothing  devilish ;    still  it  was  an  animal 
capable  of  becoming  the  type  and  instrument  of  temptation. 
The  real  tempter,  of  course,  could  not  be  an  animal,  but  only  a 
higher  evil  spirit,  the  devil,  who  made  use  of  the  animal  as  his 
instrument.     There  is  no  mention  in  Scripture  of  any  personal 
bodily  manifestation  of  this  evil  spirit,  and  it  is  altogether  impos- 
sible.    Accordingly,  he  was  obliged  to  speak  through  the  medium 
of  the  serpent.     God  leaves  man  in  the  notion  that  he  has  to 
do  with  an  animal  only,  punishes  the  serpent  in  an  emblematic 
manner  by  a  bodily  infliction,  and  the  deep  loathing  of  it  which 
is  implanted  in  man's  nature.     He  promises  grace  to  mankind 
in  the  judgment  pronounced  on  the  tempter.     The  New  Testa- 


GENESIS  III.  1-5.  39 

ment  fully  explains  the  meaning  of  this  history.     St  John  viii.  44 ; 
Rom.  xvi.  20  ;  2  Cor.  xi.  3  ;  Rev.  xii.  9. 

Yer.  1.  Subtle. — The  subtlety  of  the  serpent  became  pro- 
verbial (see  St  Matt.  x.  16;  2  Cor.  xi.  3,  11).  Adam  and  Eve 
had  observed  tliis  characteristic  of  the  serpent ;  from  whicli  cir- 
cumstance, and  from  their  infantine  inexperience,  we  must  explain 
the  fact,  that  the  speaking  of  the  serpent  did  not  surprise  them. 
It  appears,  also,  that  they  supposed  tliey  had  to  deal  only  with 
an  intelligent  beast :  hence  was  their  guilt  the  greater,  inasmuch 
as  they  believed  an  animal,  which  was  placed  under  their  autho- 
rity, rather  than  their  Creator.  The  word  "  subtle "  does  not 
bear  here  the  bad  sense  of  "  craft,"  "  cunning : "  it  stands  in  a 
good  sense,  Prov.  i.  4 ;  ch.  viii.  5. 

Hath  God  said? — The  tempter  first  seeks  to  instil  into  the 
woman  doubt  as  to  the  Divine  command  by  showing  it  to  be  un- 
just, and  therefore  that  it  could  not  proceed  from  God.  "  What 
good  is  life  in  paradise  if  one  may  not  enjoy  the  things  which  are 
found  therein,  but  only  feels  the  more  pain  by  seeing  them  before 
one's  eyes,  while  one  is  forbidden  to  take  and  eat  of  them?" — St 
Chrysostom.  The  enticement  of  acquisitiveness — of  obtaining 
that  which  is  forbidden,  the  want  of  which  makes  a  man  feel 
liimself  only  the  poorer, — this  feeling  could  not  yet  be  a  tempta- 
tion to  pure  and  sinless  beings :  another  and  a  stronger  allure- 
ment must  be  added. 

Ver.  3.  Lest  ye  die. — This  answer  shows  that  the  first  of  our 
race  sinned  against  a  clear,  known  command  (cf.  Rom.  v.  13). 
Tlie  temptation  as  yet  meets  with  no  response ;  but  the  woman's 
engaging  in  a  discussion  upon  the  subject  is  a  proof  of  her 
weakness. 

Ver.  5.  Good  and  evil. — The  serpent  represents  God  as  envious, 
as  He  has  ever  appeared  to  unbelief  to  be.  (Every  deity  is  envious, 
says  Herod:  cf.  St  Luke  xix.  21.)  The  serpent  makes  use  of 
man's  consciousness  (which  had  been  imparted  to  him  by  God) 
that  he  was  destined  for  a  higher  resemblance  to  tlie  Divine  na- 
ture, by  means  of  which  he  should  acquire  full  freedom  from 
every  temptation ;  and  blinds  him  with  a  deceitful  resemblance,  by 
leading  him  to  suppose  this  likeness  to  God  lies  in  freedom  of 
choice  merely.  Instead  of  striving  after  true  freedom,  which 
consists  in  the  mastery  over  incentives  to  evil,  man  sought  by  a 


40  GENESIS  III.  G,  7. 

■svrong  road  the  mere  shadow  of  freedom,  the  right  of  being  inde- 
pendent to  choose  good  and  evil — to  be  his  own  master — by  his 
own  experience  to  know  tlie  evil  as  well  as  the  good — to  be 
independent  of  God,  to  make  a  choice  without  considering  that 
it  was  through  the  power  and  love  of  God  that  he  was  free  from 
the  power  of  sense,  and  so  lord  of  himself  and  the  earth.  This 
was  the  first  sin;  and  it  is  now  the  main  source  and  origin,  of 
which  other  sins  are  but  the  particular  forms,  or  the  consequences 
and  fruits.  The  origin,  too,  of  sin  lies  (as  this  history  shows), 
not  in  sense,  but  hi  the  striving  after  independence  of  God — a 
false  self-dependence.  But  since  man's  true  and  eternal  self  has 
its  existence  only  in  God,  this  self-seeking  caused  immediately 
the  fall  into  the  power  of  sense, — man  now  cares  only  for  his 
temporal  material  self.  Therefore  is  sin  and  the  temptation  and 
power  of  sense  to  be  distinguished,  not  only  as  cause  and  eflPect, 
but  as  soul  and  body.  The  form  which  man's  sin  assumes — nay, 
every  object  of  the  inward  evil  desire — is  always  belonging  to 
the  /lesh  or  the  world ;  but  its  soxd,  even  in  its  coarsest  form  of 
sensuality,  is  always — self-exaltation. 

Ver.  6.  Make  one  ivise. — Lit. :  "  That  it  was  a  good  tree  to 
eat  thereof,  that  it  was  a  desire  (well-pleasing)  for  the  eyes,  and 
that  the  tree  was  lovely  to  look  on."  This  threefold  description 
of  the  same  thought  is  intended  to  represent  the  temptation  to 
the  senses  which  was  aroused  in  the  woman,  so  soon  as  the 
thought  of  being  equal  with  God  had  gained  possession  of  her 
soul. 

He  did  eat. — The  temptation  first  overcame  the  weaker  sex, 
which  should  always  bear  in  mind  the  origin  of  sin,  since  the 
same  liability  to  fall  under  temptation  still  remains:  1  Tim.  ii.  14; 
2  Cor.  xi.  3. 

Ver.  7.  Apj'07is. — Their  eyes  were  truly  opened,  as  the  ser- 
pent had  promised  them ;  but  only  to  see  that,  in  the  moment 
when  they  departed  from  God,  they  became  slaves  of  the  flesh — 
that  the  free-will  of  independence  of  God,  and  knowing  the  good 
and  the  evil,  delivers  them  up  to  the  power  of  evil.  Man,  who 
had  his  glorious  destiny  before  him,  of  becoming,  by  means  of 
the  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  and  by  obedience,  the  free  lord 
of  the  world,  ceases,  by  disobedience,  to  be  master  of  himself. 
He  can  no  longer  govern  that  which  is  a  part  of  himself — his 
own  flesh  ;  much  less  can  he  rule  outward  nature.     So  long  as 


GENESIS  III.  8-10.  41 

his  will  was  governed  by  God's  law  only,  lie  felt  not  sensual  lust, 
or  any  need  of  withdrawing  from  its  influence  (ch.  ii.  25),  but,  so 
soon  as  he  is  left  to  himself,  he  perceiv^es  that  he  hasno  longer  con- 
trol over  his  fleshly  appetites,  and  especially  the  most  powerful  of 
all  of  them,  and  that  he  can  keep  himself  unharmed  amidst  the 
storm  of  desires,  only  by  keeping  out  of  sight  the  external  incen- 
tives thereto.  This  is  the  origin  of  that  feeling  of  shame  which 
is  a  continual  remembrancer  of  our  fallen  condition,  as  it  shows 
us  we  are  the  slaves  of  the  flesh,  through  sin.  But  shame  is 
likewise  the  embodiment  of  conscience — the  unconscious  defence 
against  subjugation  to  the  flesh,  the  first  resistance  to  the  power 
of  the  evil  one,  Avhich  induces  a  man,  when  he  cannot  overcome, 
at  least  to  flee  from,  sin.  Therefore  does  God  afterwards  confirm 
and  implant  in  man  this  feeling  of  shame,  ver.  21.  "After  they 
(our  first  parents)  had  fallen  from  their  glorious  condition,  and 
their  body  had  felt  the  desires  of  the  flesh,  the  promoters  of  disease 
and  death,  still  did  the  reasonable  soul,  in  the  very  midst  of  her 
punishment,  aftbrd  a  proof  of  her  noble  origin,  and  felt  shame  on 
account  of  the  animal  desires,  not  merely  because  she  suddenly 
became  aware  of  their  presence,  but  because  the  evil  emotion  had 
its  origin  in  the  breaking  of  the  commandment.  Then  did  they 
feel  with  what  grace  they  were  clothed  when,  though  naked, 
they  were  the  slaves  of  no  unseemly  desires.  In  their  hastening 
to  make  an  apron  of  fig-leaves,  they  appear  to  have  been  moved 
by  some  mysterious  impulse,  and  to  have  adopted  unwittingly 
this  sign  of  their  punishment — a  conviction  of  sinfulness  to  them- 
selves, and  still  a  memento  of  the  same  to  eveiy  one  who  yet 
reads  the  narrative." — August. 

Ver.  8.  Cool  of  the  day.— Lit. :  "  Wind  of  the  day."  Per- 
haps we  may  infer  from  this  passage,  that  usually,  in  the  cool  of 
the  evening — that  time  so  especially  delightful  in  an  eastern 
climate — God  had  walked  in  the  garden  in  the  likeness  of  man, 
and  held  intercourse  with  him.  At  the  time,  therefore,  when  it 
had  happened  so  often  before,  they  heard  His  voice — i.e.,  per- 
ceived some  sound  which  was  a  token  of  His  presence. 

Ver.  10.  Ilid  myself. — This  need  not  be  considered  as  a  mere 
pretext :  nakedness  was  to  him  painful,  now  when  "he  perceived 
another  law  in  his  members  Avarring  against  the  law  of  his  mind, 
and  bringing  him  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  was  in 
his  members."     The  feeling  of  shame  was  a  perpetual  reproach 


42  GENESIS  in.  ll-U. 

of  conscience.     Still,  clearly  Adam  tried,  under  this  feeling  of 
shame,  to  hide  the  sin  of  disobedience. 

Ver.  11.  Not  eat. — Where  is  the  innocence  which  clothed  thee, 
so  that  thou  didst  not  require  any  covering?  Hast  thou  not 
acquired  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  by  eating  of  the  tree, 
and  thereby  art  become  evil? 

Ver.  12.  Slie  gave  me. — The  first  sin  at  once  shows  itself  as 
the  mother  of  another.  Instead  of  confessing  his  sin,  the  man 
immediately  throws  the  weight  of  it  on  the  woman — nay,  through 
the  words,  "whom  Thou  gavest  me,"  on  God  Himself;  just  as  now 
sinners  try  to  lay  the  fault  on  the  temptations  of  others,  and 
then  on  the  circumstances  of  life,  which  were  ordained  by  God. 

Ver.  13.  Beguiled  me. — The  woman  follows  the  same  course 
of  sinful  self-excuse.  God  condescends  to  enter  into  these  rea- 
sons, since,  of  course,  there  was  a  truth  mingled  with  the  lie,  yet 
without  freeing  them  from  the  punishment. 

Ver.  14.  Dust  slialt  thou  eat. — The  words  are  directed  to  the 
actvial  serpent,  and  announce  his  forthcoming  punishment — 
since  a  curse,  which  with  a  man  is  a  mere  wish,  with  God  is  an 
act.  The  serpent,  more  than  any  other  animal,  excites  in  man 
an  involuntary  loathing.  "  A  beast  which  is  like  to  an  embodied 
flash  of  lightning,  variegated  as  though  fire-streaked,  or  black  and 
dark  as  night,  eyes  like  sparks,  a  forked  black  tongue  like  a 
flame,  its  throat  an  abyss,  its  teeth  poison-fountains,  its  noise  a 
hiss  :  add  thereto  its  motion — an  effort  to  quiver  like  lightning, 
or  fly  aloft  like  an  arrow,  did  not  its  bodily  form  hinder  its  doing 
so."  The  "  going  on  its  belly  "  shows  that  in  the  beginning  the 
serpent  had  an  erect  form.  The  "  eating  dust "  is  not  to  be 
imderstood  of  the  nourishment  of  the  serpent,  but  expresses  its 
grovelling  way  of  life,  aiid  that  the  earth  must  be  mingled  in  its 
food.  The  punishment  is  significant — how  a  like  punishment 
should  be  inflicted,  according  to  the  law,  on  every  beast  which 
injured  man  (ch.  ix.  6  ;  Exod.  xxi.  28  ;  Lev.  xx.  15,  16).  This 
emblematic  punishment  of  the  serpent — "dust  shalt  thou  eat" 
— continues  after  the  restoration  of  nature,  when  its  power  to 
injure  shall  be  taken  away  :  Isa.  Ixv.  25.  Inasmuch  as  God  ad- 
dresses the  tempter  in  the  serpent,  the  punishment  of  a  deeper 
degradation  is  hereby  declared  against  him.  "  As  a  loving 
father  punishes  him  who  has  slain  his  son,  breaks  likewise  in 
pieces  the  weapon — sword  or  poignard — by  which  the  death  has 


GENESIS  III.  15.  43 

been  brouglit  about,  so  does  the  merciful  God  inflict  on  the  beast 
whose  subtlety  had  served  as  a  weapon  to  the  devil  a  lasting 
puin'shment,  that  we,  from  the  sensible  and  visible,  might  under- 
stand how  He  has  also  disgraced  him." — St  Chrysostom. 

Ver.  15.  Bruise  his  heel. — These  words  are  especially  addressed 
*o  the  serpent.  Henceforth  shall  there  be  enmity  between  the 
human  race  and  that  of  the  serpents.  This  is  the  first  breach 
among  the  creatures  of  earth,  which  has  ever  since  widened. 
jNIany  other  beasts  are  now  emblems  of  human  vices,  and  there- 
fore objects  of  abhorrence  to  man  :  the  craft,  the  lust,  the  rapa- 
city, the  pride  of  many  animals,  are  proverbial  among  us  ;  they 
point  out  to  a  mysterious  connection  of  man  with  nature,  and 
continually  remind  him  of  sin  and  the  fall,  since  originally 
nothing  which  was  created  could  inspire  man  with  dread  or 
loathing.  The  man  "  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head,"  and  it 
shall  bruise  his  heel ;  i.e.,  man  shall  in  open  fight  inflict  deadly 
wounds  on  the  serpent  (which  can  be  wounded  fatally  only  in 
the  head),  while  it  shall  often,  by  cunning,  wound  man  in  a  pain- 
ful, dangerous,  and  even  fatal  manner.  As  God  pronounces 
here  His  sentence  on  the  serpent,  He  must  also  foretell,  in  this 
enmity  that  is  betwixt  man  and  it,  the  final  triumph  of  man. 
If  this  judgment  is  applied  to  the  spiritual  tempter  (as  in  N.  T.  St 
Luke  X.  19;  llom.  xvi.  20),  then  the  word  "seed,"  descendants, 
acquires  necessarily  a  spiritual  meaning.  (Seed  can  in  Hebrew 
never  mean  an  individual,  but  only  an  aggregate  of  persons.) 
Man  has  been  overcome  by  the  devil,  but  the  hope  of  preserva- 
tion has  not  yet  been  destroyed.  The  "  seed  of  the  woman"  are, 
therefore  (in  opposition  to  "  the  children  of  the  devil"),  all  who 
are  true  to  their  original  destiny,  who  cleave  to  God  and  serve 
Him.  The  "seed  of  the  serpent"  are  all  bad  men  and  evil  spirits, 
who  are  adherents  of  Satan  (St  Matt,  xxiii.  33;  1  John  iii.  8). 
The  descendants  of  the  woman — mankind — shall,  on  some  future 
day,  obtain  an  entire  triumph  over  the  devil,  and  bring  to  nought 
the  power  of  the  evil  one.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  triumph 
is  promised  to  the  tvomaris  seed ;  and  there  appears  in  this  a 
manifest  reference  to  Him  whose  mother  "  knew  not  a  man," 
and  through  Ilim  to  His  spiritual  descendants.  This  is  the  first 
dark  prediction  of  a  future  redemption  of  mankind — a  victory 
over  the  tempter,  and  thereby  over  temptation,  with  all  its  conse- 
quences.    A  personal  Saviour  is  not  here  expressly  promised — 


44  GENESIS  III.  lC-19. 

only  alluded  to.  It  is  said,  the  "womairs  seed,"  not  Christ ;  but 
in  Ilim  only  has  the  prophecy  attained  its  completion,  which  at 
first  was  obscure,  and  afterwards  became  more  and  more  clear. 
He,  and  they  who  believe  on  Him,  before  and  after  His  appear- 
ing, these  are  they  who  tread  on  the  serpent's  head  ("the  seed 
of  Abraham,  and  heirs  according  to  the  promise:"  Gal.  iii.  29). 
The  fulfilment  is  not,  therefore,  granted  once  for  all,  but  attains 
accomplishment  only  at  that  time  when  "  all  enemies  shall  be 
put  under  Plis  feet." 

Ver.  16.  Brinfj  forth  cJdldren. — The  woman  first  receives  the 
punishment  Avhich  was  her  peculiar  share.  That  which  is  after- 
wards adjudged  to  the  man  affects  her  together  with  him. 
Childbirth,  with  all  that  precedes  and  follows,  is  the  especial 
portion  of  the  female  sex ;  and  the  most  healthy  women  sufi'er 
pain,  and  even  death,  in  a  very  great  measure  from  this  cause. 

Th(/  desire ; — i.  e.,  Notwithstanding  the  pangs  of  pregnancy 
and  childbirth,  thy  desire  shall  still  remain  towards  him  who 
hath  made  thee  subject  to  himself. 

Ride  over  thee. — From  the  beginning  the  woman  was  for 
"  the  sake  of  the  man,"  as  his  helper,  and  therefore  was  she  de- 
pendent on  him.  But  the  severe  relationship  of  master  and  sub- 
ject was  from  henceforth  to  be  the  prevailing  one  in  marriage. 
Among  most  heathen  nations  the  women  lived,  and  still  live,  in 
a  hard  and  oppressive  state  of  subjection  ;  and  it  is  one  of  the 
fruits  of  Christianity  to  have  removed  the  original  curse,  and  so 
altered  woman's  position,  so  that  (more  particularly  with  regard 
to  the  inner  life)  it  may  be  said,  "  Here  is  neither  male  nor 
female,  but  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ :"  Gal.  iii.  28.  Nevertheless, 
as  sin  still  remains  even  in  believers,  the  subjection  must  con- 
tinue, only  it  is  mitigated  by  affection. 

Ver.  19.  Unto  dust  shalt  thou  return. — A  twofold  punishment 
is  here  inflicted  on  Adam — the  cursing  of  the  earth,  and  death. 
Both  affect  the  woman  at  the  same  time,  who,  over  and  above 
these,  has  her  own  especial  punishment  by  reason  of  her  guilt 
in  tempting  her  husband.  In  the  place  of  the  easy  "  keeping  of 
the  garden,"  is  appointed  for  man  the  tilling  of  the  ground, 
which  at  the  beginning  was  attended  with  peculiar  difficulties  : 
instead  of  the  fruits  of  all  the  trees  of  the  garden,  man  must 
"  eat  the  herb  of  the  field."  And  moreover  a  curse  is  laid  on  the 
ground  itself,  that,  in  spite  of  all  man's  efforts,  his  work  shall 


GENESIS  III.  20,  21.  45 

not  be  altogether  successful.  The  Labour  of  the  field  is  but  a 
single  example  of  man's  outward  condition  on  earth.  On  every 
state,  every  position,  every  business  on  earth,  is  the  curse  laid — 
that  much  pain,  and  labour,  and  carefulness,  and  wearisome  toil 
is  every  man's  lot  in  his  calling.  This  is  the  punishment  of  sin. 
By  reason  of  this  curse,  the  earth  is  become  a  valley  of  tears,  so 
that  everything  under  the  sun  is  vanity  (Eccles.  i.  2,  3,  14), 
and  man  is  induced  to  strive  more  earnestly  after  his  "inheri- 
tance incorruptible  and  undefiled  in  heaven  :"  St  Pet.  i.  4.  It 
is  clear  that  this  is  but  one  side  of  the  picture,  and  that  man, 
under  the  dispensation  of  grace,  and  by  means  of  it,  can,  when 
converted  to  God,  change  into  a  wholesome  means  of  discipline 
and  a  precious  medicine  that  chastisement  which  is  only  a 
punishment  to  man  as  long  as  he  continues  in  sin,  and  a  fore- 
taste of  a  more  fearful,  an  eternal  punishment.  Since  this  time 
a  great  change  has  taken  place  in  nature.  She  opposes  man's 
rule  over  her  ;  and  it  is  only  by  means  of  much  wisdom  and  skill 
that  this  opposition  is  in  a  small  degree  overcome  ;  and  it  is  only 
there  abidingly  overcome  where  the  blessings  of  redemption  have 
been  extended  over  people  and  lands.  The  second  punishment 
is  death,  with  all  that  precedes  it  (sickness  and  the  necessities 
connected  therewith),  and  that  which  follows  after,  viz.,  the 
eternal  destruction  of  the  soul.  Bodily  deatli  is  the  visible 
image  and  forerunner  of  eternal  death, — the  dark  curtain  before 
that  unseen  world  which  conceals  behind  it  nothing  but  hope- 
less misery  for  the  unrepentant  sinner. 

Ver.  20.  Mother  of  all  living. — It  seems  as  though,  in  this 
name  which  Adam  gave  to  his  wife,  he  would  express  his  belief 
in  the  promise  (given  ver.  15)  of  a  future  restoration  of  the 
human  race  through  the  seed  of  the  woman.  "  Thouo-h  con- 
demned  to  death,  yet  will  not  the  human  race  perish,  but  will 
triumph  through  the  woman  over  the  tempter  to  sin  and  death." 
(lleva,  properly  Chawwah,  signifies  life;  therefore  the  Greek 
name  is  Zoe). 

Ver.  21.  Coats  of  skins. — This  presupposes  the  killing  of 
animals,  and  permission  given  by  God  to  do  so,  which  laid  tlie 
foundation  of  bloody  sacrifices.  What  had  been  done  by  them- 
selves under  the  first  impulse  of  shame  after  the  fall,  this  God 
now  does  for  them  after  a  more  perfect  manner,  lie  sanctions 
the  feeling  of  shame,  and  the  sense  of  decency  and  propriety 


46  GENESIS  III.  22,  23. 

which  arises  therefrom.  This  is  tlie  beginning  of  the  domestic 
life,  by  the  appointment  of  which  the  incentive  to  sin  is  dimi- 
nished ;  an  external  acknowledgment  of  God's  will  is  enforced 
among  men,  and  a  consciousness  of  sin  awakened,  though  by- 
means  of  these  outward  ordinances  the  inward  subjugation  of 
sin  was  not  possible.  It  was  designed  by  this  training  to  lead 
on  to  the  full  triumph  over  sin,  and  the  perfect  fulfilment  of  the 
law,  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Ver.  22.  Good  and  evil. — Had  the  tempter,  then,  not  lied,  as 
God  here  confirms  what  he  said  ?  The  explanation  will  not  be 
difficult  for  any  one  who  has  understood  the  history  of  the  temp- 
tation and  the  fiill.  Man  strove  to  attain  the  higher  condition  of 
life  for  which  God  had  destined  him  by  self-exaltation,  by  becom- 
ino-  independent  of  God.  He  wished  to  be  his  own  master  :  this 
was  certainly  possible  by  sin,  yet  at  the  cost  of  his  own  destruc- 
tion. He  is  free  from  God  :  he  is  by  nature  no  longer  under  the 
guidance  of  God  :  he  knows  himself  he  can  discern  good  and 
evil.  But  as  there  is  but  one  God — as  the  creature  cannot  be- 
come the  Creator,  but  must  depend  on  the  Creator  or  else 
perish — so  is  temporal  and  eternal  death  the  immediate  result  of 
tliis  presumption  to  be  like  God,  this  empty  freedom.  Perfect 
freedom,  without  any  desire  to  act  otherwise  than  in  obedience  to 
God's  law — this  was  the  end  which  man  by  obedience  would 
have  attained  :  freedom  from  law,  self-will — this  was  the  object 
towards  which  he  was  tempted  by  the  devil,  and  which  he  by 
disobedience  really  attained. 

Tree  of  life. — Had  man  now  further  eaten  of  the  tree  of  life, 
and  lived  for  ever,  then  would  he  have  been  independent  of  God, 
a  self-dependent  creature,  and  sin  would  have  been  perpetuated. 
This,  in  itself,  impossible,  God  hindered  by  His  punishment.  The 
exclusion  from  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life  is  the  fulfilment  of  the 
threat  of  death  in  ch.  ii.  15,  and  is  explained  therefore  by  that. 
Since  man  was  not  forbidden  at  first  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  we 
may  conclude  that  only  the  continual  partaking  of  it  would  have 
procured  for  him  immortality. 

Ver.  23.  From  the  garden  of  Eden. — The  narrative  proceeds, 
in  order  to  avoid  repetition,  from  the  word  of  God  to  the  act  of 
God.  The  "  Cherubim"  are  frequently  mentioned  both  in  tlie 
Old  and  New  Testament.  They  were  fashioned  of  gold  on  the 
ark  of  the  covenant,  and  bore  there,  emblematically,  the  throne 


GENESIS  III.  23.  47 

of  the  invisible  God.  Tlicy  are  mentioned  as  the  chariot  on 
which  God  rides  (Ps.  xviii.  11).  They  are  the  four  living 
beasts  which,  in  the  Eevelation  of  St  John,  stand  round  about 
the  tlu'one  (ch.  iv.  6).  In  their  foui'fold  resemblance — to  a 
man,  a  lion,  an  ox,  and  an  eagle — they  represent  the  idea  of  what 
is  highest  in  creation :  the  thinking  man,  the  strong  lion,  the 
beneficial  ox  (the  image  of  the  productive  power  in  nature),  and 
the  soaring,  sharp-sighted  eagle.  In  what  form  we  are  here  to 
imagine  them  is  not  told  us.  As  the  highest  beings  in  creation, 
they  guard  the  entrance  to  its  highest  treasure — the  earthly 
paradise — until  it  was  swept  away  from  the  world.  But,  without 
passing  from  the  proper  explanation  of  the  history  into  an  alle- 
gorical interpretation,  we  maj^,  in  the  flaming  sword  which 
turned  every  way,  perceive  the  image  of  the  natural  phenomena 
of  storms  and  tempests,  which,  in  the  Old  Testament,  are  often 
referred  to  the  angels  as  God's  instruments  Avhich  minister 
thereto.  The  cherubim  are  purposely  mentioned  as  the  authors 
of  these  natural  events,  in  order  so  much  the  more  clearly  to  re- 
present them  as  Divine  judgments.  The  reason  why  man  was 
driven  out  of  the  garden,  and  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life  closed 
against  him,  rather  than  the  tree  deprived  of  its  imparted  virtue, 
and  the  garden  made  to  vanish  from  Adam's  ejes,  was  this  :  that 
thereby  he  should  ever  be  reminded  he  once  really  had  been  in 
the  garden  of  Eden — had  once  really,  by  eating  of  the  tree  of 
life,  been  gifted  with  the  certainty  of  life,  but  by  the  eating  of 
the  forbidden  fruit  had  forfeited  it,  and  become  subject  to  death, 
etc.  The  whole  narrative  partakes  of  that  character  of  address- 
ing the  senses  as  in  speaking  to  children,  whereby  God  was 
pleased  to  communicate  with  our  first  parents.  The  simple  his- 
torical sense  of  this  narrative  nowhere  presents  essential  difficultv 
— nay,  the  depths  which  are  disclosed  to  us  by  the  natural,  un- 
forced interpretation,  are  far  greater  than  any  which  can  be 
attained  by  a  (pretended)  more  dignified  and  more  deep  alle- 
gorical explanation. 


48  GENESIS  IV.  1-4. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

So  groat  is  now  the  inherent  power  of  sin,  so  completely  is  the 
state  of  innocence  lost,  that  an  act  of  murder  is  committed  by  one 
of  Adam's  sons.  In  this  instance  likewise  the  progress  of  the  sin, 
from  its  deep  inward  source  to  the  fearful  outward  act,  is  remark- 
ably evident.  This  great  act  of  wickedness,  like  Adam's  first  sin, 
has  its  origin  not  in  any  allurement  of  the  senses,  or  in  any  mo- 
mentary temptation  of  circumstances,  but  in  the  state  of  the 
heart.  This  shows  itself  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  outward 
s?rvice  paid  to  God  by  sacrifice.  Man,  alienated  from  God,  but 
fesling  his  need  of  Him,  would  deserve  His  favour  by  an  act  of 
worship.  God  values  such  a  work  only  as  the  outward  expres- 
sion of  an  inward  devotion  of  the  heart.  God's  warning  points 
out  the  lurking  germ  of  sin,  that  man  may  repress  it  before  it 
springs  up,  and  proceeds  to  outward  deed.  As  this  is  not  done, 
outward  and  inward  condemnation  is  the  consequence,  though 
even  then  not  without  evident  signs  of  Divine  mercy. 

Ver.  1.  Caut  signifies  "  possession."  The  exclamation  and  the 
name  betoken  the  great  joy  of  the  mother  at  the  sight  of  a  pos- 
session, which  has  no  equal. 

Ver.  2.  Abel  signifies  "  perishableness"  (breath,  vapour). 
After  the  joy  in  the  first-born,  there  glances  forth,  in  this  name 
of  the  second  son,  the  feeling  of  the  transitory  nature  of  life,  per- 
haps a  prophetic  foreboding  of  his  early  death.  The  curse,  "  To 
dust  shalt  thou  return,"  does  not  permit  the  continuance  of  joy 
in  any  earthly  possession. 

Tiller  of  the  ground. — In  their  earliest  condition,  men  tended 
the  domestic  animals,  and  cultivated  corn.  Sheep  cannot  live 
without  man's  care  and  protection ;  and  corn  is  nowhere  on  the 
earth  found  in  a  wild  state,  and  without  cultivation  it  at  once 
degenerates.  The  choice  of  the  more  simple  life  of  tending  the 
flocks,  and  of  the  more  artificial  employment  of  husbandry,  with 
its  greater  demands  on  the  attention,  betokens  here  the  different 
characters  of  the  two  brothers.  We  meet  with  the  same  amon^ 
Cain's  descendants. 

Ver.  4.  Firstlings. — As  the  eating  of  flesh  is  not  mentioned 
until  after  the  flood,  so  probably  Abel  kept  his  flocks  to  procure 


GENESIS  IV.  5.  49 

food  from  the  milk,  and  clothing  from  the  skins ;  possibly  also 
the  sacrifice  itself  might  be  an  unbloody  one — of  the  wool  and 
the  milk  of  the  herd.  Sacrifice  is  the  emblematic  expression  of 
the  thankful  offering  of  the  heart  to  God,  since  man,  in  an 
acceptable  offering  made  to  God,  presents,  as  it  were,  his  heart 
therewith.  In  bringing  each  of  the  produce  of  his  labour  and 
calling — Cain  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  Abel  of  the  flock — the 
use  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  rest,  and  the  daily  labour  itself, — 
all  were  to  be  sanctified  to  God.  There  is  no  mention  made  of 
an  express  Divine  appointment  of  sacrifices.  They  appear  to 
have  originated  from  the  direct  feeling  of  man's  heart,  from  whom 
the  visible  intercourse  of  God  was  not  yet  withdrawn  ;  and  in 
that  intercourse  of  God  with  man,  sacrifice  received  its  ratifica- 
tion. Sacrifices  belong  to  the  number  of  those  Divine  gifts 
which  remain  to  us  from  man's  original  state  of  innocency,  and 
which,  like  speech,  marriage,  the  practice  of  agriculture,  and 
the  tending  of  flocks,  are  to  be  found  among  all  people  on  earth 
which  are  not  sunk  in  the  deepest  barbarism.  Sacrifice  pre- 
supposes a  living,  personal  relationship  of  man  to  God,  Himself  a 
,  Person. 

Ver.  5.  Had  not  respect. — We  are  not  told  in  what  manner 
the  Lord  manifested  His  pleasure  or  displeasure.  Some  have 
supposed  the  acceptance  was  made  known  by  means  of  the 
consuming  of  the  one  sacrifice  by  lightning  from  heaven,  as  took 
place  in  after  times  (Lev.  ix.  24;  Judges  vi.  21 ;  1  Kings  xviii.  38), 
and  the  displeasure  by  withholding  it  in  the  other  case  ;  others, 
by  the  ascending  or  descending  of  the  smoke  of  the  offering ; 
others  (which  is  very  unlikely )j  from  the  blessing  on  the  cattle 
or  fruits  which  followed.  But  in  all  these  suppositions  persons 
have  had  in  view  the  manner  of  the  sacrifices  of  later  times.  In 
the  early  condition  of  man,  we  must  rather  regard  the  sacrifice 
as  a  personal  gift  offered  to  a  visible  God,  who,  in  compassion  to 
the  weakness  of  Ilis  children,  held  direct  intercourse  with  them 
in  a  fatherly  manner ;  and  therefore  the  sign  given  by  means  of 
this  nearer  intercourse  of  God  with  His  creatures  would  be  some 
more  direct  one,  and  accordingly  is  not  mentioned.  The  ground 
of  the  acceptableness  or  non-acceptableness  lay  in  the  believing 
temper  of  Abel,  who  brought  his  sacrifice  in  a  childlike  spirit,  as 
a  thank-offering  to  the  gracious  God;  on  the  other  hand,  in  the 
unbelieving  temper  of  Cain,  who,  inwardly  alienated  from  God, 

B 


50  GENESIS  IV.  7,  8. 

tlionglit  by  a  gift,  as  if  meritorious  in  itself,  to  acquire  tlie  favour 
of  God.  Such  hypocrisy  is  an  abomination  in  God's  sight ;  since 
He  desires  above  all  things  the  offering  up  of  ourselves,  and 
then  our  works,  as  the  marks  of  our  obedience. 

Ver.  7.  If  thou  doest  ivell.^lleh.  "  If  thou  art  good  (pro- 
perly, "  makest  thy  way  good  "),  there  is  a  lifting  up ; "  i.e.,  in  op- 
position to  the  falhng  of  the  countenance,  then  thou  canst  cheer- 
fully lift  up  thy  countenance — needest  not  cast  gloomy  looks 
down  on  the  ground.  God  would  graciously  persuade  Cain, 
who  sought  for  the  cause  of  his  dissatisfaction  in  what  was  with- 
out,  to  look  into  his  own  heart.  This,  and  the  following 
colloquies  of  God  with  Cain,  we  are  not  to  look  on  as  what 
took  place  inwardly  in  his  heart  and  conscience ;  but  God  as 
yet  continued  to  communicate  in  human  form  with  the  primeval 
men. 

Sin  lieth  at  the  door; — i.e.,  "It  lies  in  ambush,  like  a  wild 
beast,  at  the  door  of  thy  dwelling,  that  it  may  spring  upon  thee 
when  thou  goest  forth."  When  the  inward  declension  from  God 
has  taken  place,  an  opportunity  only  is  required  in  order  that 
"  lust,  after  it  has  conceived,  may  bring  forth  sin  ; "  and  so  the  _ 
sinful  desire  may  break  forth  into  the  sinful  deed.  This  image 
clearly  alludes  to  the  serpent ;  as  the  exhortation  which  is  at- 
tached thereto,  reminds  us  of  the  promise  of  triumph  over  it,  and 
encourages  to  undertake  the  struggle. 

Hide  over  him. — God  oflFers  to  the  tempted  the  whole  help  of 
His  almighty  grace  to  withstand  sin.  His  will  is  that  he  should 
not  suffer  sin  one  moment.  If  man  unites  himself  in  covenant 
with  this  Divine  will,  then  can  nothing  overcome  him,  as  he  has 
Almighty  Power  on  his  side,  which  has  given  him  the  promise 
that  he  both  can  and  shall  "  bruise  the  serpent's  head."  [Luther's 
translation  is  here  different  from  our  own ; — it  is,  "  Do  not  give 
to  sin  its  will,  but  rule  over  it."  Our  version  understands  the 
Hebrew  as  referring  to  Abel,  and  giving  a  promise  to  Cain  that 
he  should  rule  over  him  as  being  the  younger,  and  this  view  has 
the  sanction  of  St  Chrysostom ;  but  the  other  translation  is  the 
preferable  one. — Transl.~\ 

Ver.  8.  Cain  talked. — Some  old  translations  have  here  the 
words,  "  Let  us  go  out  into  the  field."  Indeed,  something  ap- 
pears to  be  omitted ;  though  the  words  even  of  themselves  would 
signify,  Cain  talked  with  his  brother,  in  order  to  make  him  con- 


GENESIS  IV.  9-14.  51 

fident  and  allure  liim  out.  The  last  warning  made  to  Cain  had 
only  hardened  him. 

Ver.  9.  Brother  s  deeper. — As  Adam  before  him,  so  now  Cain 
imaiiines  he  can  conceal  himself  from  the  Omniscient.  The  idea 
of  the  Divine  omniscience  does  not  seem  to  have  been  as  yet  de- 
veloped in  man's  understanding ;  therefore,  as  soon  as  they  had 
in  their  hearts  departed  from  God,  they  believed  at  once  that 
they  could  hide  themselves  from  His  punishment.  The  mental 
blindness  is  not  greater  than  if,  in  our  time,  a  servant  of  sin,  in 
order  to  bring  ease  to  his  conscience,  should  make  to  himself  a 
god  who  leaves  sin  unpunished.  We  see  here,  in  the  sin  and  in 
the  defiant,  hardened  state  after  its  completion,  as  in  comparison 
with  Adam's,  the  progress  of  corruption.  The  same  may  be 
observed  in  the  punishment  and  the  despair  of  Cain. 

Ver.  10.  Thy  brother  s  blood. — Or,  literally,  "  It  is  a  voice 
(or,  I  hear  a  voice)  of  the  blood  of  thy  brother,  that  cries  to  Me 
from  the  earth."  The  blood  of  Abel  cried  to  the  heavenly 
Avenger  of  blood  for  vengeance,  since  Abel  was  by  faith  the  child 
of  God.  By  the  act  of  sin  has  the  will  of  the  creature  put  itself 
in  the  place  of  that  of  the  Creator ;  therefore,  the  consequences 
of  such  a  deed  cry  to  the  Creator,  that  He,  by  retribution,  should 
restore  the  order  which  had  been  broken. 

Ver.  11.  Cursed  from  the  earth. — Cursed  away  from  it, — 
driven  from  off  it  by  the  curse,  so  that  it  shall  no  more  afford 
thee  a  secure  resting-place. 

Ver.  12.  Yield  unto  thee. — The  first  curse  after  the  fall  con- 
sisted only  in  this,  that  the  field  should  be  cultivated  with  pain 
and  labour :  but  Cain  must  depart  into  lands  where  the  earth, 
though  cultivated  with  care,  should  yield  him  no  return. 

A  vcujabond;  i.e.,  banished  from  the  land  of  his  family — home- 
less ;  but  he  is  not  forbidden  to  found  for  himself  a  new  home. 

Ver.  13.  Can  bear. — Cain  felt  no  real  repentance;  but  he 
feared  the  retribution  with  a  feeling  of  despair. 

Ver.  14.  Shall  slay  me. — The  land  out  of  which  he  was 
driven  was  the  place  where  God  reveals  Himself,  and  is  the 
Guide  of  His  people.  Driven  from  this  spot,  he  believes  he  shall 
be  exposed  to  all  that  is  dreadful.  He  does  not  indeed  suppose 
that  he  shall  be  out  of  the  kingdom  of  God's  power ;  he  had 
already  experienced  the  presence  of  that  power  too  much  to  think 
this  :  but  he  shall  be  driven  away  from  the  visible  manifestations 


52  GENESIS  IV.  15-17. 

of  His  grace.  He  fears  the  vengeance  of  blood  from  his  nearest 
kin,  "when  Adam's  descendants  increase.  Bloodshed,  Cain  feels, 
demands  the  shedding  of  blood. 

Yer.  15.  Sevenfold. — Heb.  "  And  the  Lord  said  to  him.  There- 
fore shall  every  one  who  slayeth  Cain  have  vengeance  on  him 
sevenfold," — i.e.,  in  order  that  it  may  not  take  place.  From 
the  beginning  God  takes  punishment  into  His  own  hand,  or 
commits  it  to  His  vicegerents  on  earth — the  magistrates.  If  the 
punishment  of  blood  were  allowed  to  every  one,  then  would  the 
human  race  fall  into  the  depths  of  barbarism.  Vengeance  would 
not  stop  with  the  just  retribution,  but  sin  would  be  heaped  on 
sin.  At  the  same  time,  God  threatens  a  fresh  murder  with  the 
extremity  of  punishment.  The  order  of  the  world  has  been  fear- 
fully overturned.  What  would  take  place,  in  the  increasing 
wickedness  and  sin  of  mankind,  if,  by  God's  power,  a  bridle  were 
not  put  on  their  fury  !  The  Lord  declares  also,  that  if  any  one 
should  follow  Cain's  example,  he  shall  not  be  without  punish- 
ment on  account  of  his  example,  but  rather  shall  incur  a  heavier 
penalty,  as  he  ought  to  have  been  taught  by  him  how  horrible 
the  crime  was  in  God's  sight. 

Set  a  mark :  i.e.,  not,  He  put  a  mark  on  him,  whereby  he  might 
be  known ;  but.  He  gave  him  a  sign  as  a  pledge  of  His  promise, 
by  means  of  which  Cain  gained  confidence,  and  felt  himself 
secure  notwithstanding  his  banishment. 

Ver.  16.  iVofZ  signifies  banishment,  exile.  He  gave  the  name 
himself.  Some  have  wished  to  find  intimation  of  the  name 
Hind,  India. 

Ver.  17.  Enoch  sign.  "  instructed,"  or  consecrated,  dedicated : 
the  beginning  of  the  arts  of  life  may  be  here  represented.  Cain 
and  his  descendants  leave  the  pastoral  life,  and  begin  to  live  in 
cities.  We  now  meet  with  the  first  senealomcal  table — that  of 
the  descendants  of  Cain.  Banished  from  the  land  of  God's  im- 
mediate revelation,  settled  in  an  unfruitful  region,  prone  to 
sensual  pleasures,  this  family  applies  their  whole  powers  to  the 
cultivation  of  manual  skill.  Thus,  in  their  way,  are  they  made 
to  serve  to  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  the  line  of  Seth,  which 
succeeded  in  the  place  of  Abel,  a  barrier  was  put  to  the  further 
increase  of  irreligion,  by  more  direct  communion  in  the  worship 
of  God.  It  has  been  no  uncommon  phenomenon  in  the  history 
of  fallen  man,  to  find   that  an  increase  of  sin  has  led  to  a 


GENESIS  IV.  18-24.  53 

development  of  man's  lower  powers.  Prudence,  cleverness,  in- 
vention, have  existed  among  a  people  sunk  in  vice,  wdio  in  the 
arts  of  life  have  at  first  excelled  the  better  and  more  relimous 
nations ;  but,  in  the  end,  the  more  calm  and  deep  ripening  of 
all  their  powers  in  the  children  of  God,  has  given  them  a  lasting 
superiority,  if  they  have  only  continued  to  hold  fast  to  their 
principles. 

Ver.  18.  Trad,  i.e.,  towns;  il/£>/i?/;'a(?Z  =  destroyed  or  smitten 
by  God  ;   Methusael  =  man  of  God  ;  Lamech  =^  a  powerful  man. 

Ver.  19.  Zilla. — The  progress  of  the  coi"ru])tion  of  sin  per- 
ceptible in  the  first  polygamy. 

Ver.  22.  Artijicer. — The  invention  of  the  chief  arts  and 
sciences  of  life  took  place  among  the  sons  of  Lamech,  who  was 
inflated  with  pride  on  account  of  his  remarkable  strength. 
Jubal  is  the  founder  of  the  nomadic  pastoral  life,  in  a  way 
which  had  not  existed  before.  This  is  the  kind  of  life  which 
afterwards  the  patriarchs  led,  as  do  the  most  of  the  Arabs  at  the 
present  day  :  a  life  in  which  the  head  of  a  family,  with  his 
children  and  servants,  pitches  his  tent  on  a  fruitful  spot,  which 
is  the  particular  property  of  no  one ;  and,  when  this  is  grazed, 
moves  onwards.  Hitherto  it  would  seem  that  the  agricultural 
and  pastoral  life,  in  a  state  of  greater  simplicity,  were  united ; 
but  here  begins  the  separation  of  work  and  calling. — In  the 
names,  Jubal  and  Tubal-Cain,  early  traces  of  the  heathen  gods 
Apollo  (who  is  also  called  Abellos)  and  of  Vulcan  have  been 
found. 

Ver.  24.  Seventy  and  sevenfold. — This  appears  to  be  an  old 
poem  or  song  (see  Lowth,  edit.  1821,  p.  39),  which  was  handed 
down  from  Lamech,  and  expresses  the  self-confidence  with  which 
he  was  filled  on  account  of  the  inventions  of  his  family,  and 
especially  those  of  his  youngest  son.  "  Hear  my  voice,  ye  wives 
of  Lamech,  and  give  ear  to  my  speech :  Since  I  have  slain  a  man 
to  my  wounding,  a  young  man  to  my  hurt,  if  Cain  is  revenged 
seven  times,  Lamech  shall  be  seventy  times  sevenfold."  It 
Avould  appear  from  this  that  he  had  committed  a  murder  in  spite 
of  God's  connnand  on  the  subject,  and  would  by  his  own  power 
wrest  a  like  immunity  from  ])unishment  with  Cain.  Yet  it  may 
be  so  understood,  "  If  I  had  slain  a  man  to  a  wound  {i.e.,  Avho 
had  wounded  me),  then,  if  Cain  seven  times,  Lamech  seven  and 
seventy  times,  would  be  revenged."    The  increasing  wildness  and 


54  GENESIS  IV.  25,  2G-V. 

lawlessness  of  men  wliicli  brought  on  the  flood  is  here  already' 
apparent.  In  this  genealogical  table  there  appear  some  mem- 
bers to  be  left  out,  or  the  list  does  not  extend  to  the  flood,  as  the 
number  of  generations  is  only  seven. 

Ver.  25.  Seth;  i.e.,  compensation. 

Ver.  26.  Enos  signifies  "man,"  yet  with  the  notion  attached 
of  helplessness. 

Name  of  the  Lord;  i.e.,  to  offer  up  solemn  prayers  to  His 
name.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  regular  worship,  which  did 
not  consist  in  preaching  or  teaching  (as  this  did  not  exist  among 
any  people  of  the  old  world),  but  in  prayers  and  hymns,  to 
which  afterwards  were  added  regular  sacrifices.  Hitherto  ther 
had  been  among  men  no  solemn  ordinances  of  this  kind.  It  is 
a  sign,  on  the  one  hand,  of  increasing  corruption  among  men, 
whicli  made  such  appointments  necessary ;  on  the  other  hand,  a 
proof  of  the  gradvial  progress  of  the  work  of  salvation  among 
men. 


CHAPTEK  V. 

Here  commences  the  series  of  genealogical  tables,  which, 
though  interrupted  by  the  narrative,  is  continued  throughout 
this  book  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  up  a  regularly  connected 
chain.  These  genealogical  tables  form,  as  it  were,  the  outward 
framework  on  which  the  history  is  built,  and  which  consists  for 
the  most  part  of  mere  names,  during  a  period  of  more  than 
1500  years.  This  is  all,  together  with  a  fcAv  fragmentary 
notices,  which  remains  to  us  of  the  history  before  the  flood, — just 
as,  in  our  life,  the  comparatively  long  period  of  childhood  is  lost 
in  oblivion.  We  have  here  the  genealogical  table  of  the  family 
in  which  was  preserved  the  pure  knowledge  of  God.  We  see 
from  ver.  29,  that  these  patriarchs  felt  themselves  forlorn  on  the 
now  corrupt  earth,  and  looked  for  better  times ;  from  ver.  22, 
that  they  had  a  good  hope  of  an  eternal  life.  The  length  of 
days  of  the  patriarchs  before  the  flood,  and  its  gradual  diminution 
afterwards,  shows  by  what  slow  degrees  the  effects  of  the  para- 
disaical state  wore  out.  This  circumstance  should  serve  to  re- 
mind us,  that  at  the  beginning  man  was  destined  for  immortality, 


GENESIS  V.  1-22.  55 

while  at  the  same  tunc  the  long  Hfe  at  first  allowed  was  (as  ver. 
24,  29  seem  to  indicate)  not  felt  to  be  a  blessing.  However,  the 
great  age  attained  by  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  earth  enabled 
them  more  readily  to  keep  up  the  traditions  of  early  times. 
Noah,  who  was  born  a.m.  1056,  had  known  Adam's  grandson, 
Enos,  who  died  in  the  year  1140  ;  and  Lamech,  Noah's  father, 
had  known  Adam  himself. 

Ver.  1.  Likeness  of  God. — God  Himself  stands  at  the  head  of 
the  table  of  man's  descendants ;  not  merely  as  the  Creator,  since 
He  was  also  the  Creator  of  all  things  living,  but  as  the  Father 
of  men  :  St  Luke  iii.  38.  Not  without  an  object,  therefore,  is 
the  Divine  origin  of  the  human  race  mentioned  at  the  beginning 
of  this  list  of  genealogy,  since  it  contains  the  names  of  those 
patriarchs  who  remained  faithful  to  God,  and  therefore  were 
justly  called  "  the  sons  of  God"  (ch.  vi.  2). 

Ver.  3.  Aftei'  Jus  image. — This  expression  does  not  contain 
a  reference  to  the  fall,  but  rather  signifies  the  continuance  of  the 
Divine  image,  which  was  man's  original  condition.  As  Adam 
was  created  in  the  imao;e  of  God,  so  was  he  able  to  beo-et  sons 
after  his  image.  The  prevalence  and  continuance  of  original 
inherited  sin  is  taken  for  granted  throughout  the  whole  history. 

Ver.  G.  Enos,  which  signifies  "  man,"  with  the  notion  of  weak- 
ness, mortality  added  thereto.  (Enoscli — man,  from  "  anasch," 
to  be  sick,  weak.) 

Ver.  9.   Cainan,  or  Ilenan,  signifies  "  possession,"  like  Cain. 

Ver.  12.  Alahalaleel  —  ^^  the  praise  of  God." 

Ver.  15.  Jarg<i  =  condescension. 

Ver.  18.  Enoch  —  "  consecrated."  "We  may  infer  from  this 
name  that  he  was  from  childhood,  and  in  a  peculiar  sense,  given 
up  to  God's  service. 

Ver.  21.  Methuselah  —  the  man  of  sending  :  it  afterwards  ac- 
quired the  meaning  of  a  missile,  which  does  not  seem  to  suit  here. 

Ver.  22.  Walked  with  God;  so  ver.  24.  He  Kved  a  life  in 
the  closest  communion  with  God,  as  afterwards  Noah  did  (ch. 
vi.  9).  The  expression  is  stronger  than  before  God  (ch.  xvii.  1), 
before  His  countenance,  or  after  God.  To  walk  after  God  is  to 
obey  Him,  to  follow  Him  :  Deut.  viii.  19.  AYc  have  here  an 
example  of  a  man,  of  the  most  ancient  times,  who,  in  faith  on  the 
revelations  and  promises  of  God  which  had  been  made  to  our 
first  parents,  and  repeated  to  their  descendants,  was  able  to  over- 


56  GENESIS  V.  24-32. 

come  the  prevailing  moral  corruption  so  completely,  that  while 
on  earth  he  walked  in  communion  with  God.  It  has  been  re- 
garded as  a  Divine  sanction  of  the  marriage-state,  that  Enoch, 
even  in  such  a  life  as  this,'  begat  sons  and  daughters. 

Ver.  24.  Was  not — an  expression  that  often  elsewhere  occurs 
of  sudden  disappearances  which  cannot  further  be  explained  (ch. 
xlii.  13,36;  Job  vii.  8,  etc.).  The  expression  certainly  signi- 
fies that  Enoch  was  suddenly  removed  by  God  out  of  the  world 
without  seeing  death,  which  expression  is  confirmed  by  Heb. 
xi.  5.  All  other  questions  upon  this  translation,  as  well  as  upon 
that  of  Elias — such  as,  whither  they  were  carried "?  where  they 
are  now?  what  change  took  place  on  the  passage? — Scripture 
answers  not ;  but  it  places  before  us  Enoch  as  an  example  of  a 
blessed,  eternal  life,  even  among  the  first  generations  of  the 
world.  While  in  later  times  all  hopes  and  prospects  even 
among  the  people  of  God  under  the  Old  Testament  Avere 
directed  to  this  world,  and  long  life  was  regarded  as  a  sign  of 
God's  favour,  early  death  a  mark  of  Ilis  displeasure,  there  stands 
forth  in  the  very  oldest  time  one  who,  after  a  short  life — short, 
that  is,  for  the  time  in  which  he  lived — was  taken  away  because 
he  was  well-pleasing  to  God.  It  has  been  observed,  that  the 
duration  of  his  life  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  extreme 
length  of  man's  life  before  the  flood,  as  the  duration  of  the  earthly 
life  of  Christ  does  to  the  extreme  length  of  man's  life  in  that  age. 
Ver.  28.  Comfort  us. — Noah  signifies  peace,  Avhich  word  in 
the  Hebrew  bears  a  relation  to  "  comforting."  With  prophetic 
glance  he  saw  in  Noah  a  just  man  of  the  very  rarest  kind,  and 
hoped  from  him  consolation  under  the  weight  of  sorrow  on  the 
earth,  which  was  then  more  than  ever  full  of  iniquity.  This 
was  a  look  of  hope  cast  towards  the  future,  which  had  been 
awakened  by  the  promise  given  to  our  first  parents,  ch.  iii.  15. 

Ver.  32.  Shern.  —  Schem  signifies  "  name." — He  it  was  in 
whose  descendants  the  name  of  God,  the  knowledge  of  His  re- 
vealed will,  should  be  preserved. — Ham,  "  Cham,"  signifies 
"  heat," — the  forefather  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  hottest  countries, 
among  whom  particularly  are  the  Cushites,  the  negroes. — Jaj^het 
signifies  "  spreading  abroad," — the  son  who  should  have  by  far  the 
greatest  number  of  descendants.  It  is  possible  that  these  names 
were  given  at  the  very  time  Avhen  Noah  received  the  prophetic 
insight  into  their  future  destiny,  which  we  read  in  ch.  ix.  15-27. 


GENESIS  VI.  57 


CHAPTEE  VI. 


Men,  now  deeply  sunk  in  coiTuption,  depart  more  and  more 
from  God.  The  earth  is  full  of  violence,  and  God  must  warn  of 
punishment  to  come.  Yet  in  wrath  He  shows  mercy,  by  grant- 
ing so  long  a  time  for  repentance,  and  by  saving  one  whole 
family  from  the  destruction. 

The  fact  of  a  flood  having  once  covered  our  highest  moun- 
tains, and  overwhelmed  the  former  earth,  is  attested  by  nature 
itself.  The  traditions  of  different  nations  likewise  afford  a  testi- 
mony independently  of  what  Scripture  tells  us.  On  the  highest 
mountains  ai'e  found  petrifactions  of  muscles,  snails,  fish,  also  the 
remains  of  innumerable  genera  of  animals  now  no  longer  exist- 
ing. The  old  world  shows  in  its  remains  the  forms  of  rude,  un- 
couth animals  and  plants ;  the  more  delicate  and  refined  kinds 
of  both  seem  to  have  been  developed  after  the  flood.  The  race 
of  primeval  men  would  appear  to  have  been  of  the  like  charac- 
ter (though  no  remains  of  them  have  been  discovered,  probably 
for  the  reason  that  they  did  not  live  in  those  countries  where 
search  has  been  made).  The  mention  of  giants  is  an  intimation 
of  this  their  character.  Moreover  the  world  before  the  flood 
must  have  had  a  very  different  climate  from  the  present,  since 
the  remains  of  animals  of  hot  countries  are  found  in  regions  of 
perpetual  ice.  This  fact,  which  nature  reveals  without  any  ex- 
planation, Scripture  tells  us  was  a  punishment  inflicted  by 
God.  We  see  in  the  flood  a  foreshadowing  of  other  similar 
judgments  in  after  ages,  and  of  God's  compassion  at  the  same 
time.  The  flood  was  both  the  tomb  of  the  old  world  and  the 
womb  of  the  new.  The  death  of  men  and  of  all  living  creatures 
is  a  type  of  our  death  and  resurrection  in  baptism.  As  Noah 
was  saved  by  faith,  and  the  flood  was  the  entrance  into  cove- 
nant Avith  God,  so  do  we  die  and  are  buried  with  Christ  in  bap- 
tism, through  which  we  rise  to  the  life  of  the  new  man,  as  like- 
wise the  Israelites  were  baptized  unto  ISIoscs  in  the  cloud,  and 
in  the  sea  (cf.  1  Pet.  iii.  18-20;  1  Cor.  x.  1).  "  Since  as  the 
flood  and  the  Red  Sea  were  instruments  for  the  preservation  of 
Noah  and  Israel,  and  conduct  them  to  life,  even  so  to  us  is  death, 
if  we  abide  in  faith,  the  way  to  life." — Luther. 


58  GENESIS  VI.  2,  3. 

[It  may  be  remarked,  that  what  V.  Gerlach  says  of  the  flood 
and  its  remains  is  scarcely  in  agreement  with  the  present  notions 
of  scientific  men  on  the  subject.  It  is  thought  that  the  remains 
of  Avhich  V.  Gerlach  speaks  are  those  of  the  animal  and  vege- 
table kingdoms  of  this  earth,  hefore  it  was  prepared  for  man's  use, 
and  consequently  before  the  Mosaic  account,  and  that  the  flood 
extended,  over  but  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  globe. — 
Trans.'\ 

Ver.  2.  Sons  of  God  are  here  the  descendants  of  Seth,  who 
called  on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  were  named  therefore  after 
Him  (see  ch.  iv.  25).  God  is  placed  at  the  head  of  this  race 
who  now  bear  His  name,  as  afterwards  the  Israelites  were  called 
the  children  of  Jehovah,  because  they,  beyond  all  mankind, 
were  sanctified  to  Him.  As  men  multij:)lied  on  the  earth,  they 
forgot  their  holy  calling,  and  their  separation  from  the  rest  of 
the  Avorld  as  the  sons  of  God,  and,  like  the  God-forgetting 
Israelites  in  later  times  (to  whom  they  are  here  held  up  as  a 
warning  example :  cf.  ch.  xxvii.  46  ;  ch.  xxviii.  1 ;  Exod.  xxxiv. 
15,  16  ;  Deut.  vii.  3,  4;  Num.  xxv.  1 ;  1  Kings  xi.  1,  2),  they 
look  only  at  bodily  beauty,  and  not  at  the  knowledge  and  service 
of  the  true  God.  The  older  Jewish  writers,  and  some  fathers  of, 
the  Church,  falsely  explain  "  the  sons  of  God"  by  "  the  angels," 
and  understand  their  fall  to  have  taken  place  then.  But  Holy 
Scripture  knows  nothing  of  a  fleshly  intercourse  of  angels  and 
men  (cf.  St  Luke  xx.  35)  ;  and  "  if  the  saints  who  had  been 
made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost  coiild  not  bear  the  sight  of 
the  angels,  and  Daniel  himself,  the  '  man  greatly  beloved,'  lay 
also  lifeless  by  reason  of  such  visitation  (Dan.  x.  11),  who  would 
be  so  irrational  as  blasphemously  and  foolishly  to  suppose  that 
the  immaterial  and  spiritual  natures  could  ally  themselves  with 
the  fleshly?" — St  Chrysostom.  Besides,  such  an  interpretation 
does  not  agree  with  the  context,  as,  according  to  it,  the  sin  Avould 
have  originated  with  the  angels ;  whereas  the  narrative  speaks 
of  sin  introduced  by  man,  and  men,  not  angels,  are  punished 
for  it. 

Ver.  3.  A  hundred  and  ticenty  years. — The  most  pi'obable 
translation  of  this  difficult  place  is  (after  the  ancients),  "  ^iy 
Spirit  shall  not  always  rule  in  man  in  their  aberrations :  they 
are  flesh ;  their  days  shall  be  120  years."  Then  the  sense  is, 
"  ^ly  Spirit,  Avhich  was  breathed  into  man  at  the  creation — the 


GENESIS  VI.  4,  G.  59 

breath  of  life,  shall  not  always,  in  their  state  of  great  corruption, 
rule — dwell,  abide  in  them  :  their  punishment  have  I  in  'My  own 
hand,  as  they  are  powerless,  mortal  beings;  after  120  years  will 
I  destroy  them."  (The  opposition  of  "spirit"  and  "flesh"  in  a 
moral  sense,  as  in  St  Paul's  Epistles,  does  not  occur  in  the  Old 
Testament.)  Probably  we  are  to  consider  these  words  as  a  pro- 
phecy uttered  by  God  to  those  among  the  corrupt  race  who 
acknowledged  Him.  Now,  when  the  salt  had  lost  its  savour, 
when  in  the  dark  world  the  light  began  to  be  extinguished,  was 
the  time  come  that  God's  judgments  should  fall.  The  carcase 
was  there,  ready  for  the  o-atherinff  too;ether  of  the  eaHes.  None 
of  God's  greater  judgments  has  ever  taken  place  without  a  time 
for  repentance  after  the  threatening  of  it ; — so  the  death  in- 
curred by  Adam  took  place  after  a  long  life  ;  the  destruction  of 
the  Amorites  after  400  years  (ch.  xv.  16).  So  He  gave  to  the 
Ninevites  forty  days',  to  Nebuchadnezzar  a  year's  respite  ;  to 
the  Jews,  after  their  rejection  of  Christ,  forty  years.  From  this 
announcement  was  Noah  sure  that  the  flood  would  be  brought 
on  the  world.  He  was  at  the  time  four  hundred  and  eighty 
years  old. 

Ver.  4.  Giants. — It  is  not  here  said  that  the  giants  were  born 
from  the  marriao-es  of  the  sons  of  God  and  daughters  of  men. 
By  this  name  we  understand  men  of  great  size,  but,  still  more, 
men  of  violence  (the  word  signifies,  according  to  its  derivation, 
"  breakers  in,"  i.  e.,  robbers).  Such  a  race  existed  on  the  earth 
before  this  time,  but  it  acquired  still  more  by  these  dangerous 
marriages  the  upper  hand.  Moses  first  relates  that  at  that  time 
giants  existed ;  then  he  goes  on  to  say  that  some  of  them  sprung 
from  those  mixed  mannages.  It  would  have  been  no  wonder  if 
among  Cain's  descendants  such  violence  had  prevailed  ;  but  how 
general  the  corruption  was  is  seen  more  clearly  from  this  circum- 
stance, that  even  the  holy  race  was  infected  with  the  same  evil. 
The  pestilence  was  so  prevailing  a  one,  that  it  had  even  seized 
on  the  few  families  who  ought  to  be  temples  of  God.  The  words 
of  Moses  allude  to  old  sayings  and  traditions  which  Scripture 
docs  not  connnunicatc  ;  since  of  these  "  men  of  renown"  we  know 
nothing.  Perhaps  many  of  these  legends  have  passed  over  into 
the  heathen  mythology,  for  Avhicli  cause  Scripture  buries  them  in 
silence. 

Ver.  6.  Repented  the  Lord. — The  opposite  feeling  which  Scrip- 


60  GENESIS  VI.  6. 

ture  often  expresses — that  God  repenteth  of  anything,  and  that 
God  is  not  a  man  that  He  shonld  repent  (both  expressions  occur 
in  one  chapter,  1  Sam.  xv.  11,  29) — this  requires  some  fuller 
discussion  on  our  parts.  God  is,  according  to  His  own  nature, 
unchangeable ;  nothing  can  happen  without  Him ;  His  counsels 
are  eternal  (Num.  xxiii.  19  ;  Hosea  xi.  19  ;  Acts  xv.  18  ;  Rom. 
xi.  29  ;  James  i.  17)  ;  yet  has  He,  since  He  created  man,  whose 
whole  existence  in  time,  after  His  own  image,  vouchsafed  to  have 
a  life  in  time  and  finiteness,  w^hile  still  He  continues  to  be  the 
Unchangeable  and  the  Eternal.  As,  therefore,  man  is  capable 
of  loving  God,  yet  capable  also  of  turning  away  from  Him,  so 
God  feels  love  or  anger  towards  him  as  he  loves  or  contemns 
God.  Of  His  infinite  love,  He  has  created  and  redeemed.  He 
sustains  and  bears  with  man,  and  feels  the  deepest  sympathy 
in  all  that  concerns  him ;  yet  His  holy  anger  burns  against  every 
sinner,  and,  when  obstinately  hardened,  delivers  him  over  to 
eternal  punishment.  As  Christ,  although  the  Son  of  God,  per- 
fectly sympathised  in  all  the  sorrows  of  fallen  man,  so  God,  by 
His  Holy  Spirit,  is  so  fully,  so  inwardly  joined  with  man,  that 
He  is  troubled  by  his  sins,  and  in  him  sighs  and  strives  after  the 
restoration  and  fulfilment  of  His  image  in  him  (Rom.  viii.  26,  27  ; 
Eph.  iv.  30).  Even  before  Christ's  incarnation  the  relation  of  God 
to  man  existed.  By  His  incarnation  has  it  attained  its  perfection. 
If  we  keep  in  mind  this  doctrine  of  Scripture,  we  perceive  clearly 
what  this  strong  expression,  "  It  repented  and  it  grieved  God," 
means.  As  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  Christ's  human  feel- 
ing is  displayed  when  He  prays  that  the  cup  might  pass  from 
Him,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  is  brought  into  perfect  obedience 
to  God's  will,  in  order  to  show  how  He  was  a  partaker  in  all  our 
infirmities,  yet  without  sin, — so  also  in  these  expressions,  "  re- 
penting" and  "grieving,"  that  human  feeling  is  distinctly  and 
purposely  mentioned  which  (independently  of  punishment  and 
redemption)  the  sight  of  the  deeply  corrupted  world  was  calcu- 
lated to  awaken  in  God.  The  personal  loving  God  cannot  feel 
indifferent  as  to  man's  degradation.  To  allow  a  world  to  perish, 
though  His  just  punishment,  in  cold  indifference — this  had  been 
the  work  of  iron  fate,  not  of  a  personal  living  God.  Much  more 
does  the  f;\ll  of  man  grieve  Him  :  His  work  is  corrupted.  His 
labours  lost.  This  is  the  first  feeling  which  is  represented  in 
Scripture  as  belonging  to  God,  who  vouchsafes  to  experience  the 


GENESIS  VI.  6.  61 

human  feeling  of  love.  But  the  Almighty,  Holy,  All-wise  God 
triumphs  over  everything  that  opposes  Him,  and  the  very  op- 
position serves  all  the  more  to  bring  to  light  the  majesty  of  His 
redeeming  love  and  might  (Rom.  iii.  iv.  v.  vii.).  This  latter  attri- 
bute is  ever  present  with  God ;  and  therefore  Plis  "  grieving  " 
can  never  resemble  the  short-sighted,  changeable  sorrow  of  man, 
but  is  ever  overpowered  by  His  omnipotent  love.  But  to  the 
end  that  we  may  never  forget  what  an  offence  sin  is  in  God's 
sight,  as  He  could  never  have  created  us  in  sin,  and  cannot  away 
Avith  sin.  Holy  Scripture,  in  several  places,  represents  after  a 
human  fashion  the  feelino;s  which  sin  excites  in  the  Divine  mind. 
The  human  side  of  this  expression  has  its  perfect  truth,  and  can 
mislead  us  to  form  incorrect  ideas  of  God,  only  when  we  sever 
it  from  the  declarations  concerning  God's  nature  which  are  of  a 
contrary  character,  but  do  not  really  contradict  this.  We  may 
learn  from  these  words  that  God  does  not  recognise  man  in  his 
deeply  corrupted  state  for  His  own  creation,  as  if  He  should  say, 
"  This  is  not  My  work ;  this  is  not  the  being  made  after  My 
image  and  endowed  with  such  noble  gifts ;  this  apostate  creature 
I  disdain  to  acknowledge  as  ^line."  So  much  as  regards  His 
"  repentance."  Of  a  similar  kind  is  the  "  grieving" — namely,  that 
through  man's  horrible  sins  God  is  not  less  injured  than  as  if 
His  mind  had  been  wovinded  by  a  deadly  pain.  Here  is  expressed 
the  difference  between  the  oi'iginal  nature  as  created  by  God, 
and  the  present  human  nature  as  corrupted  by  man.  Would  we 
not  therefore  defy  and  grieve  God,  we  must  both  abhor  and  flee 
from  sin.  Yea,  His  fatherly  goodness  and  patience  would  draw 
us  from  sinful  desires,  since  God  Himself,  the  more  to  win  our 
hearts,  has  Himself  taken  our  feelings  (Calvin).  We  may  add 
to  this  Luther's  explanation.  He  understands  "  'the  repenting' 
and  the  'grieving'  as  belonging  to  God's  true  children.  Noah 
and  the  patriarchs  were  moved  with  the  most  lively  grief,  when 
the  Spirit  revealed  to  them  this  wrath  of  God."  These  sighings, 
therefore,  were  ascribed  to  God  Himself,  because  they  proceeded 
from  His  Spirit.  We  see  in  after  times  an  example  in  Abraham 
of  the  same  thing,  as  he  placed  himself  like  a  wall  before  Sodom, 
and  would  not  cease  from  pleading  for  its  preservation  until  he 
had  reached  the  number  of  the  five  just  persons.  With  what 
endless  sighs  does  the  Holy  Spirit  fill  the  breast  of  Abraham  in 
his  vain  efforts  to  help  the  wretched  Sodomites !  In  like  manner, 


62  GENESIS  VI.  7-18. 

what  will  not  Samuel  do  for  SauH  God  even  saitli  to  liim, 
"How  long  wilt  thou  grieve  for  Saul,  whom  I  have  rejected?" 
So  does  Christ  also  weep  over  Jerusalem. 

Yer.  7.  Have  made  them. — "  But  why,  some  one  may  say,  if 
man  inclines  to  evil,  are  the  irrational  creatures  subjected  to  the 
same  punishment?  Altogether  naturally;  since  they  were  created 
for  man's  sake,  and  for  man's  sake  are  they  destroyed.  They  are 
made  partakers  of  our  chastisement,  that  the  exceeding  greatness 
of  the  Divine  wrath  may  be  seen.  As  by  the  sin  of  the  first 
man  the  earth  was  cursed,  so  do  they  share  his  destruction  in 
the  flood ;  in  like  manner,  when  man  is  restored  to  God's  favour, 
the  animals  also  will  be  partakers  of  his  blessedness — since 
the  creation,  as  St  Paul  says,  will  be  freed  from  the  bondage  of 
corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God." — St 
Chrysostom. 

Ver.  8.  Noali  found  grace. — God  revealed  His  holy  anger  and 
the  approaching  judgment  to  Noah,  who  walked  before  Him  with 
a  childlike  believing  mind.  To  the  time  before  the  flood  1  Pet. 
iii.  18-20  contains  some  weighty  allusions  ;  and  Christ  also  warns 
us  of  the  security  of  the  men  of  that  time,  and  represents  it  as  a 
type  of  what  will  take  place  before  the  last  day:  St  Matt, 
xxiv.  37-39. 

Ver.  9.  Perfect. — i.e.,  Noah  stood  at  that  time  altogether  alone, 
or  at  least  in  some  special  near  relationship  to  God.  The  word 
"  walked  "  is  the  same  as  that  used  ch.  v.  24  of  Enoch. 

Ver.  10.  Begat  three  sons. — Here  the  genealogical  table  is  con- 
tinued from  ch.  v.  29  ;  and  Noah's  family  is  again  mentioned,  be- 
cause from  henceforth  their  history  will  form  the  subject  of  the 
narrative. 

Ver.  11.  Before  God. — This  expression  implies  that  man's 
corruption  and  sin  loudly  called  for  punishment. 

Ver.  13.    With  the  earth. — i.  e.,  With  all  that  is  on  the  earth. 

Ver.  14.  Gopher  loood. — Doubtful  what  this  is — perhaps 
cypress  wood. 

Ver.  16.  A  windoiv. — Heb.  a  "light."  It  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  that  only  one  window  or  opening  was  made. 

Ver.  18.  The  covenant. — The  covenant  which  God  here  makes 
Avith  Noah  belongs  to  the  whole  human  race,  and  not  to  the 
kinodom  of  God  on  earth  ;  and  therefore  "  God"  (Elohim)  .here 
speaks,  and  not  "  Jehovah,"  as  also  ch.  ix.     It  is  otherwise  in 


GENESIS  VI.  22- VII.  3.  C3 

the  command  concerning  clean  and  unclean  beasts,  cli.  vli.  2, 
and  in  Noah's  sacrifice,  ch.  viii.  20. 

Ver.  22.  Thus  did  Noah. — "  I  admire,"  says  St  Chrjsostom, 
"the  virtue  of  this  just  man,  and  the  unspeakable  mercy  of  the 
Lord,  when  I  consider  how  he  was  able  to  live  among  the  wild 
beasts — the  lions,  the  panthers,  and  the  bears.  Consider,  dear 
brother,  what  a  might  the  first  man  enjoyed  before  the  fall,  and 
think  on  the  goodness  of  God,  who,  after  man's  disobedience  had 
spurned  the  dignity  conferred  on  him,  found  another  man  who 
should  restore  the  original  image,  and  conferred  on  him  that 
former  dignity  which  the  animals  acknowledged,  and  to  which 
they  rendered  obedience." 


CHAPTER  YII. 

Yer.  3.  Face  of  the  earth. — To  the  name  "Lord" — i.e.,  Je- 
hovah, the  eternal  God  of  the  covenant  of  His  chosen  people — 
God  joins  here,  in  addition  to  the  former  general  declaration  of 
providential  care  over  the  whole  creation,  an  especial  promise 
to  Xoah  as  the  appointed  priest  of  His  house  and  of  the  new 
race  of  men — the  preserver  and  maintainer  of  the  service  of  the 
true  God  on  earth.  On  the  particular  occasion  of  the  preserva- 
tion from  the  flood,  it  was  of  great  moment  that  the  communion 
of  man  with  God  by  means  of  sacrifice  and  thank-oft'ering 
should  be  firmly  established.  This  is  here  done  by  the  preser- 
vation of  "  the  clean  beasts"  in  greater  numbers  than  the  others. 
As  it  is  not  stated  what  beasts  are  to  be  regarded  as  clean  and 
unclean,  we  must  conclude  that  this  distinction  had  long  ago 
been  established  by  custom,  and  also  by  Divine  approbation. 
At  all  events,  that  which  was  originally  established  by  custom  is 
here  confirmed  and  sanctified  by  God.  The  separation  of  those 
beasts  which  were  forbidden  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice  and  eaten 
is  no  arbitrary  invention  of  man's,  and  does  not  originate  in  an 
undefined  loathing  on  the  part  of  man  towards  certain  beasts ; 
but  rather  in  the  fact,  that  by  the  fall  certain  aninials  have 
become  emblems  and  representatives  of  certain  sins  and  a])pe- 
tites,  so  that  to  man  reconciled  to  God  they  are  objects  of  abhor- 


64  GENESIS  VII.  9. 

rence  (cli.  iii.  15).  For  the  same  reason  that  the  eating  of  blood 
was  in  very  early  times  forbidden,  is  the  use  in  sacrifice  and  the 
eating  of  these  animals  likewise  interdicted — in  order,  that  is,  by 
means  of  a  symbolic  outward  purity,  to  train  up  mankind  in  its 
state  of  childhood  to  internal  holiness.  Hence  we  perceive  at  the 
same  time  in  what  way  the  forbidding  of  certain  kinds  of  food, 
has  a  perpetual,  eternal,  inward  truth,  which  Christ  has  as  little 
done  away  as  any  tittle  of  the  law,  only  that,  after  the  abroga- 
tion of  tlie  external  sign,  these  commands  are  not  in  the  letter 
bindinfT  on  the  Christian.  Althoug-h  therefore  nothing  is  un- 
clean  to  Christians,  if  it  be  received  with  thanksgiving  (1  Tim. 
iv.  4 ;  Acts  X.  15);  and  although  the  symbols  by  which  God 
expresses  eternal  Divine  truths  vary  among  different  people  and 
in  different  ages,  and  God  never  designed  to  appoint  perpetual 
forms  for  all  people  alike  ;  and  although,  in  the  general  con- 
dition of  the  childhood  of  the  human  race,  the  training  to  holi- 
ness by  means  of  symbolic  purity  was  an  indispensable  necessity 
for  all,  which  after  the  full  revelation  of  Christ  no  longer  exists, — 
still  there  remains  in  these  commands  concerning  food  the  gene- 
ral truth  for  all  times,  that  everything  outward  should  by  em- 
blem lead  us  to  think  of  what  is  inward — that  the  external  sym- 
bolic purity,  like  every  other  discipline  and  custom,  especially  in 
the  service  of  God,  ought  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  life  of  true 
holiness ;  and  that  therefore  we  can  never  regard  with  indiffer- 
ence the  emblems  of  our  own  sins  in  the  world  of  creation,  nor  any- 
thing, indeed,  which  in  nature  serves  to  remind  us  of  death  and 
destruction,  and  of  the  wild  power  of  unbridled  lust.  Here, 
then,  we  find  the  continuance  of  that  first  ordinance  of  God  by 
which  outward  discipline,  good  order,  and  morality  are  sanc- 
tioned. 

Ver.  9.  As  God  had  commanded. — This  of  course  does  not  con- 
tradict what  was  said  above,  but  only  means  that  the  clean,  as  the 
unclean  beasts,  entered  the  ark  two  by  two.  As  seven  of  the 
clean  beasts  went  in,  it  is  probable  that  they  consisted  of  three 
pairs  and  a  supernumeraiy,  which  Avas  probably  a  male,  and  in- 
tended either  for  sacrifice  or  food.  The  number  seven  is  here, 
as  everywhere,  the  sacred  number  of  the  covenant  between  God 
and  man.  The  clean  beasts  were  intended  to  serve  for  food, 
since  it  appears  that  even  before  the  flood  the  eating  of  flesh 
(which  afterwards,  in  consideration  of  human  weakness,  was  for- 


GENESIS  VII.  11-24  ;  VIII.  1.  65 

mally  allowed)  had  taken  place.  The  animals  were  offered  in  sa- 
crifice, and  so  consecrated  to  God,  before  they  were  eaten,  and  in 
part,  if  not  entirely,  burnt  in  honour  of  Him.  By  this  means  a 
double  purpose  was  served :  before  every  meal  a  thank-offering 
was  made  to  God,  and  that  which  was  eaten  itself  was  sanctified. 

Ver.  11.  Great  deep. — The  sea — the  vast  reservoir  of  the 
waters  of  the  earth.  This  took  place  afterwards  on  a  smaller 
scale,  when,  e.g.,  the  place  of  Sodom  was  occupied  by  the  Dead 
Sea.  Probably  there  the  action  of  fire  was  employed,  as  this 
agent  appears  to  have  been  very  instrumental  in  the  formation 
of  our  mountains. 

Ver.  12.  The  rain. — It  seems  it  had  never  rained  before — 
the  earth  was  watered  with  dew :  ch.  ii.  5,  6. 

Ver.  16.  Shut  him  in. — "  God^^  takes  care  for  His  creation  to 
preserve  it ;  but  when  "  tlie  Lord''  provides,  it  is  only  for  His 
true  servant  who  has  found  favour  in  His  sight. 

Ver.  17.  Was  lift  uj). — In  a  most  beautiful  descriptive  manner 
the  narrative  depicts  to  us  the  gradual  rising  of  the  flood,  and 
does  not  merely  tell  what  happened.  We  see,  as  it  were,  the 
flood,  swelling  more  and  more,  vmtil  it  reached  the  greatest 
height. 

Ver.  24.  One  hundred  and  fifty  days. — Therefore,  a  time 
sufficient  utterly  to  destroy  everything  living,  and  to  change  the 
character  of  certain  parts  of  the  earth.  Some  portions,  however, 
of  the  globe  retained,  in  their  streams  and  the  course  of  theii* 
rivers,  marks  of  the  former  age  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VIH. 

Ver.  1.  Remembered. — This  does  not  mean,  as  at  first  sight 
might  appear,  as  though  God  had  before  forgotten  Noah  and  the 
animals  with  him  in  the  ark,  and  now  again  remembered  him  ; 
but  it  points  particularly  at  the  revelation  of  God's*  care  for  His 
people.  God  remembereth  all  His  works  at  all  times,  and 
equally ;  but  the  petition,  "  Remember  me,  O  Lord"  (Ps.  xxv. 
7 ;  St  Luke  xxiii.  42),  proceeds  from  that  image  of  God  in 
man,  through  which  we  can  find  no  peace  until,  by  inward  per- 


66  GENESIS  VIII.  2-11. 

sonal  communion  with  God,  we  are  made  partakers  of  Him. 
Here  the  word  alludes  to  Noah's  temptations  while  God  still 
hid  Himself  from  him,  and  to  the  renewed  enjoyment  of  His 
grace  and  good  pleasure  when  He  again  revealed  Plimself  to 
him.  "  Therefore  it  is  no  immeaning  word  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
spoke,  '  God  remembered  Noah,'  since  it  shows  that,  from  the 
day  when  Noah  entered  the  ark,  no  word,  no  revelation  from 
God  was  granted  him.  He  was  permitted  to  behold  no  ray  of 
the  Divine  grace,  but  was  confined  to  the  promise  which  he  had 
received ;  and  so,  while  the  water  raged  around  him,  it  was  as 
though  God  had  forgotten  him." — Luther. 

Wind. — Here  was  a  natural  means  applied  to  bring  about  a 
supernatural  effect  (similarly  Exod.  x.  13,  19,  ch.  xiv.  21),  as 
the  natural  wind  was  the  sign  and  conductor  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Ver.  2.  Restrained. — Cf.  ch.  vii.  11. 

Ver.  4.  Ararat  is  called,  2  Kings  xix.  37,  Isa.  xxxvii.  38,  a 
district  in  Armenia,  between  the  two  lakes  Wan  and  TJrumia 
and  the  river  Araxes.  In  Jer.  li.  27  it  stands  for  the  whole 
of  Armenia.  To  this  day  one  of  the  highest  mountains  of  the 
earth  (next  to  the  peaks  of  the  Himalaya,  the  highest  in  the  old 
world)  is  so  called.  Its  height,  according  to  the  latest  calcula- 
tions, is  16,200  feet.  "  The  Mt.  Ararat  has  around  it,  at  greater 
or  less  distances,  the  following  seas  and  lakes,  viz.: — The  Red 
Sea,  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Lakes  Wan  and  Urumia,  the  Caspian 
Sea,  the  Ural  Sea,  the  Sea  of  Asoph,  the  Black  and  the  Medi- 
terranean. The  mountain  lies  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  desert 
reo-ion,  which  extends  almost  unbroken  from  the  embouchure  of 
the  Senegal  to  the  east  of  the  Gobi,  north  of  Peking ;  bounded 
by  a  northern  expanse  of  ocean  which  runs  parallel  with  the 
desert  from  Gibraltar  to  Baikal ;  in  the  midst  of  the  longest  line 
of  land  on  the  globe,  which  stretches  from  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  to  the  Beering  Straits," — K.  v.  Raumer's  Gen.  Geog.  On 
this  range  rested  the  ark,  while  all  the  mountains  were  still 
under  water ;  but  many  yet  higher,  to  which  there  is  an  allusion 
in  what  follows,  had  already  begun  to  dry. 

Ver.  7.  ^1  raven. — The  raven,  which  lives  on  carrion,  is  first 
sent  out  of  the  ark.  It  does  not  find  any  resting-place,  but  is 
not  obliged  to  return.     From  the  dove  Noah  seeks  a  surer  sign.' 

Ver.  11.   Olive  leaf. — The  olive  is  a  low  shrub  which  still 


OENESIS  VIII.  17,  20.  67 

grows  in  those  countries,  and  comes  out  from  under  water.  It 
was  a  significant  and  merciful  appointment  of  God's  providence 
that  tlie  dove  brought  a  bough  from  this  useful  tree,  the  oil  from 
the  fruit  of  which  is  an  emblem  of  the  grace  of  the  Holy  S[)irit, 
and  its  boughs  emblems  of  peace. 

Ver.  17.  Be  fruitful. — Noah  does  not  leave  the  ark  except  at 
the  express  command  of  God.  God  now  grants  him  the  new 
promise  of  fruitfulness,  and  confirms  thereby  all  the  promises 
made  at  the  creation,  and  especially  the  blessing  promised  on 
marriage. 

Ver.  20.  Unto  the  Lord. — To  tJehovah,  the  living,  personal, 
true,  real  God  of  covenant.  Immediately  after  the  flood  Noah 
brings  a  sacrifice,  and  God  concludes  for  the  first  time  a  covenant 
with  man,  annexing  to  it  promises  and  a  visible  sign.  Hitherto 
had  the  descendants  of  Seth  (the  branch  of  mankind  in  which  was 
])reserved  the  service  of  God)  remained,  notwithstanding  the  fall, 
in  a  kind  of  childlike  communion  with  Him.  But  now  that  corrup- 
tion had  spread  so  widely,  and  the  destruction  of  the  rest  of  man- 
kind became  necessary,  a  new  era  commences  in  the  history  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  period  of  man's  first  childhood  was  past. 
He  stood  no  longer  in  immediate  communion  with  God.  From 
the  distant  and  estranged  position  in  which  mankind  now  stood  to 
his  Maker  must  they  become  reconciled  to  Him,  through  some 
medium  of  atonement  which  He  must  establish.  Throutrh  this 
typical  and  prophetic  sacrifice  of  propitiation  the  Divine  grace  is 
renewed  to  them,  and  the  first  sacramental  sign  afforded  in  tlie 
rainbow.  God  renews  the  promises  which  had  been  given  to 
Adam.  He  establishes  man  in  a  relation  of  greater  authority 
and  power  over  the  animals,  and  permits  the  use  of  wine  and  flesh, 
in  consideration  of  the  diminished  strength  of  the  human  race. 

Burnt-offerings. — Tiie  burnt-offering  (Heb.  Olah,  i.e.  "  the 
ascending,"  viz.  to  heaven),  wliich  entirely  evaporated  and  as- 
cended in  smoke,  had  this  peculiarity  beyond  all  other  sacrifices, 
that  the  whole  of  the  animal  was  burnt,  and  not  a  part  eaten  by 
the  priest  or  the  sacrificcr,  as  was  the  case  with  the  others  (in 
later  times  the  priest  received  only  the  skin).  It  was  the  most 
ancient,  the  most  general,  and  the  most  Important  among  the 
different  offerings ;  and  Its  chief  design,  expiation,  and  the  recon- 
ciliation of  God  with  man,  as  the  context  in  the  history  before  lis 
shows.    The  sacrlficer  placed  his  hand  on  the  head  of  the  animal, 


68  GENESIS  VIII.  22. 

and  thereby  symbolically  laid  his  sins  upon  it.  To  it  the  de- 
served punishment  of  death  was  transferred.  There  is  this 
difference  between  burnt-offerino;  and  sin  and  trespass-offerings, 
that  the  latter  were  made  on  account  of  some  particular  sins, 
but  in  the  burnt-offering  a  general  confession  of  guiltiness  was 
expressed.  The  burnt-oflering,  as  the  most  general  kind  of 
sacrifice,  comprised  the  others  under  it,  and  was  therefore  a  thank- 
offering,  though  this  latter  was  very  often  especially  joined  with 
the  other  (see,  e.g.,  Exod.  xx.  24  :  Joshua  viii.  .38  ;  Judges  xx. 
26 ;  1  Sam.  x.  8  ;  1  Kings  iii.  15).  The  signification  of  the 
burnt-offering  in  the  case  of  Noah,  was  the  solemn  confession 
that  he  and  his  had  been  saved,  not  by  reason  of  their  own 
righteousness,  but  of  God's  grace,  and  that  their  guilt  required 
an  expiation  before  God ;  the  expression  of  a  belief  that  God 
will,  of  His  grace,  further  forgive  their  sin ;  and  the  thanksgiving 
for  their  preservation  founded  on  this  confession  and  this  belief. 

Ver.  22.  Seed  time,  etc. — This  important  declaration  must  be 
taken  in  closest  connection  with  what  has  gone  before  and  what 
follows.  It  appears  at  first  sight  astounding  that  God  should 
here  allege,  as  the  reason  of  His  mercy,  that  same  deep  corrup- 
tion of  mankind  which  before  the  flood  He  had  declared  to  be 
the  cause  of  that  terrible  judgment  (ch.  vi.  5).  But  here  the 
expression,  that  "  the  imagination  of  man's  heart  is  evil,"  must 
be  understood  in  connection  with  the  sacrifice.  Because  the 
Lord  had  smelled  the  sweet  savour  of  the  sacrifice,  therefore — 
He  so  spake  with  Himself — therefore  He  could  forgive  in  spite 
of  the  deepest  corruption.  The  sweet  savour  (the  savour  of 
rest,  i.e.,  refreshment)  of  the  offering  is  the  symbol  of  God's  ac- 
ceptance of  the  expiation  which  man  brought,  as  well  as  of  the 
believing  feeling  and  self-offering  which  were  expressed  in  this 
emblematic  act.  We  find  in  this  sacrifice,  and  in  God's  covenant 
with  man  which  accompanies  it,  an  important  progress  in  the 
history  of  God's  kingdom  ;  since  here,  in  the  symbolic  act  at  the 
commencement,  are  expressed  the  necessity  of  an  atonement,  and 
the  forbearance  and  mercy  shown  to  man  in  spite  of  his  deep  cor- 
ruption. God  promises  that  such  a  judgment  as  the  flood  shall 
never  return.  Henceforth  is  the  way  to  reconciliation  more  and 
more  opened  to  all,  until  the  earth  shall  in  God's  appointed  time 
perish  by  fire,  and  from  this  fresh  purification  come  forth  new 
and  glorious  (2  St  Pet.  iii.  7). 


GENESIS  IX.  1-6.  69 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Ver.  1.  Replenish  (cf.  i.  28.) — A  comforting  assurance  that, 
notwitlistanding  the  flood,  God  had  still  pleasure  in  the  increase 
of  mankind. 

Ver.  2.  Delivered. — The  words  are  stronger  than  ch.  i.  26,  to 
which  they  point,  and  clearly  show  that  nature  generally,  and 
the  animals  in  particular,  by  the  progress  of  human  corruption 
and  by  the  increase  of  mankind,  had  now  become  estranged  from 
man.  At  the  first  creation,  man  had  dominion  over  the  brutes 
by  means  of  the  bond  by  which  he  was  more  nearly  united  to 
nature,  and  by  his  own  spirit,  which  was  in  closer  communion 
with  God:  now  he  ruled  through  fear  and  dread. 

Ver.  4.  Blood  thereof. — Even  before  the  flood,  through  the 
wild,  lawless,  kind  of  life  of  men,  the  eating  of  flesh  had  come 
into  vogue :  here,  on  account  of  man's  greater  weakness,  it  is 
expressly  permitted.  The  killing  of  the  animals,  which  con- 
tinually reminded  men  of  "  death,  the  wages  of  sin,"  and  of  him 
who  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  was  calculated  to  in- 
spire them  with  a  certain  natural  horror,  and  required,  therefore, 
an  express  Divine  appointment.  But  in  the  blood  is  the  life — 
the  animal  soul.  The  eating  of  an  animal  which  had  not  first 
been  bled,  and  likewise  the  eating  of  blood  generally,  was  calcu- 
lated to  nourish  the  thirst  for  blood,  the  delight  in  death,  and 
therefore  is  forbidden.  Besides,  the  soul  of  the  animal,  the 
blood,  was  appointed  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice  as  an  atonement, 
in  the  stead  of  man's  soul.  After  that  Christ,  not  by  the  blood 
of  goats  and  of  calves,  but  by  His  own  blood,  had  made  an  atone- 
ment, the  eating  of  blood  became  a  matter  of  indifference  (cf. 
Lev.  xvii.  11 ;  Heb.  ix.  11).— [?  Vide  Acts  xv.  29.] 

Ver.  6.  Image  of  God. — The  life  of  his  fellow-man  was  to  be 
so  much  the  more  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  man  from  henceforth, 
inasmuch  as  God  had  permitted  the  killing  of  animals  for  his 
subsistence.  ]\Ian  was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  that  he 
might  know  and  love  Him,  and  by  means  of  this  knowledge 
and  Avill  fi.'eely  fulfil  God's  will.  Every  individual  man,  there- 
fore, stands  in  personal  relation  to  God.     All  injury  thus  done 


70  GENESIS  IX.  17. 

to  the  Image  of  God  in  man,  will  God  Himself  avenge  on  man 
and  beast.  Every  man  should  regard  another  as  his  brother, 
his  equal,  and  possessed  of  the  same  claims  on  life  with  himself. 
The  threatening  here  against  man  and  beast  is  to  be  taken 
generally.  Yet  herein  we  see  a  proof  of  the  Divine  appointment, 
by  Avhich  every  man  who  has  killed  another  suffers  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  magistrate  ;  every  beast  also  who  has  slain  a  man 
receives,  after  a  symbolic  manner,  the  punishment  of  death 
(Exod.  xxi.  28).  The  reason  assigned,  "  because  God  made 
man  in  His  own  image,"  shows  that  under  the  Divine  image 
is  meant  not  merely  the  moral  perfection  of  man  in  his  com- 
munion Avith  God  (which  was  forfeited  by  the  fall),  but  likewise 
his  capacity  for  this,  which  could  never  be  lost.  As  the  nature 
of  all  punishments  consists  in  exact  retribution,  the  destroying 
of  God's  image  in  those  who  had  themselves  destroyed  it,  met 
this  requirement. 

Ver  17.  Alljiesh. — From  what  is  here  said,  it  is  probable  that 
before  the  flood  it  had  never  rained,  otherwise  the  sign  would 
not  have  had  its  significance.  But,  if  we  would  rightly  repre- 
sent to  our  mind's  eye  the  full  force  of  this  sign,  we  must  bear 
in  view  the  character  of  the  shorter,  but  violent  storms  of  hot 
countries.  Supposing,  as  was  the  case,  none  of  these  had  oc- 
curred before  the  flood,  then  every  fresh  gathering  of  clouds,  as 
long  as  the  remembrance  of  that  judgment  lasted,  would  be  a 
visible  sign  of  God's  anger.  But  if,  after  such  a  storm,  the  sun 
again  appeared,  and  more  than  that,  if  it  mirrored  its  image  on  the 
dark  cloud,  in  the  form  of  the  bow  which,  Avith  its  seven  glorious 
colours — and  more  particularly  with  the  green,  that  colour  of 
peace,  gentleness,  and  benevolence — formed,  as  it  were,  a  bridge 
from  heaven  to  earth,  then  would  men  be  convinced  that  even  in 
the  midst  of  the  threatening  signs  of  His  wrath  God  would  still  let 
His  grace  descend  on  men,  and  ever  be  mindful  of  His  covenant. 
"  God  looks  on  the  bow  and  remembers  His  covenant"  is  a 
gracious  mode  of  expressing  the  great  truth,  that  God's  cove- 
nanted signs,  to  which  He  has  attached  His  promises,  are  real 
channels  of  His  grace,  and  not  merely  before  men,  but  before 
Himself,  have  power  and  meaning.  The  Unchangeable  requires 
no  continual  remembrancers ;  yet  are  the  signs  of  His  covenant 
true  and  real  revelations  of  His  grace,  not  chance  arbitrary 
emblems  which  merely  in  man's  idea  have  import,   but  they 


GENESIS  IX.  18-22.  71 

are  real,  inasmuch  as  He  remembers  His  covenant  when  He  sees 
them. 

Vcr.  18.  Father  of  Canaan. — Ch.  x.  6.  For  the  significant 
names  of  the  three  sons  of  Noah,  see  ch.  v.  30.  Shorn  (name), 
the  forefather  of  the  people  of  Western  Asia,  who  are  still  called 
Semites ;  many  of  whom  retained  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God.  Ham  (heat),  the  forefather  of  the  people  in  the  torrid 
zone,  in  Africa  and  Southern  Asia.  Japhet  (spreading),  the 
forefather  of  the  largest  portion  of  the  human  race — of  the  north- 
ern and  western  Celtic,  of  the  Persian,  Grecian,  German  fami- 
lies. It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  father  of  Prometheus,  who  was 
a  giant,  bears  in  the  Greek  mythology  the  name  Japetos.  The 
history  of  the  first  Book  of  Moses  is  not  merely  from  the  very 
beginning  a  history  of  the  Idngdom  of  God,  but  it  prepares  the 
way  for  the  narrative  of  events  which  follow.  So  here  is  men- 
tioned Canaan,  because,  among  the  sons  of  Ham,  he  was  of  the 
most  importance  in  the  history  of  the  Israelites,  and  on  him  too 
afterwards  the  prophetic  curse  fell. 

Vcr.  21.  Was  dimnhen. — "  By  trying  too  much  to  excuse  the 
patriarch,  some  put  from  them  this  consolation  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  deemed  it  needful  to  give  to  the  Church — viz., 
that  even  the  greatest  saints  sometimes  stumble  and  fall." — 
(Luther.)  The  novelty  of  the  use  of  wine,  and  the  fiery  nature 
of  the  southern  wines,  may  in  some  degree  lessen  the  sin  of  one 
who  in  other  respects  walked  in  such  close  communion  with  God. 
Nevertheless  the  truth  remains,  that  this  sin  was  no  slight  one, 
in  placing  himself  in  such  a  situation  through  sensual  indul- 
gence and  want  of  moderation. 

Ver.  22.  Told  his  tioo  brethren.  — "  Although  Noah's  sin 
seems  only  a  small  one,  it  yet  was  the  cause  of  a  grievous 
offence ;  since  not  only  Ham  is  offended  thereby,  but  also  the 
other  brothers,  and  perhaps  also  their  wives.  Ham  did  not 
laugh  at  his  father  in  childish  levity,  as  boys  do  when  they  meet 
a  drunken  man  in  the  street,  and  mock  him  :  no !  he  sinned 
through  the  fall  of  his  father  by  thinking  himself  a  better,  and 
holier,  and  more  upright  man  than  he.  Thus  is  the  thing  itself 
a  real  offence,  and  Ham  sins  in  judging  his  father,  and  taking 
pleasure  in  his  sin." — Luther.  "  God  had  chosen  eight  souls  as 
a  holy  and  pure  seed  for  the  renewing  of  the  earth ;  but  Noah's 
sin  shows  how  necessary  it  is  for  God  to  bridle  men  in,  however 


72  GENESIS  IX.  25. 

excellent  they  may  be ;  and  Ham's  godless  conduct  is  a  proof 
how  deep-rooted  was  evil  in  man,  since  in  God's  holy  asylum, 
among  so  small  a  number,  one  was  a  devil.  Such  wickedness  in 
the  prince  of  the  new  world  and  in  the  holy  patriarch  of  the 
Church,  as  well  as  such  wickedness  in  their  brother,  might  well 
make  the  other  brothers  tremble  as  much  as  if  they  had  seen  the 
ark  rend  and  break  in  pieces.  But  they  overcame  his  offence 
with  as  much  decision  as  they  covered  it  with  becoming  mo- 
desty."— Calvin. 

Ver.  25.  A  servant  of  servants. — Noah  in  prophetic  spirit 
cursed  that  son  of  Ham  (Canaan)  who,  before  all  tlie  rest,  was 
the  principal  propagator  of  his  father's  sins,  and  the  most  con- 
spicuous in  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  descen- 
dants of  Ham  stand,  in  fact,  the  very  lowest  among  all  the 
people  of  the  earth.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  from  Canaan  was 
descended  one  of  the  civilised  nations  of  the  world,  the  Phoeni- 
cians, as  from  another  of  Ham's  sons,  Mizraim,  the  highly  culti- 
vated Egyptian  people.  But  the  cultivation  of  the  Phoenicians 
was  entirely  of  an  earthly  character.  They  were  an  enterprising 
commercial  people,  with  a  gross,  sensual  religion,  and  infamous 
for  utter  want  of  good  faith,  without  any  sense  of  anything 
high  or  noble,  and  ever  vibrating  between  tyranny  and  lawless- 
ness. Even  their  colony  Carthage  was  not  allowed  to  play  any 
great  part  in  the  world's  history,  but  was  obliged  to  succumb  to 
Rome.  The  Eg^^tians,  the  most  cultivated  nation  of  the  old 
world,  had  also  an  entirely  earthly,  sensual  religion,  which  kept 
the  people  in  spiritual  and  bodily  bondage ;  and  after  its  first 
period  of  greatness  (during  which  the  enonnous  power  of  man  in 
his  early  state  displayed  itself),  nothing  great  could  be  produced 
by  it.  All  the  other  people  of  this  widely  spread  family  of  the 
Hamites,  especially  the  negroes  in  Africa,  Asia,  and  Australia, 
form  the  aboriginal  population  in  those  lands,  but  are  sunk  in  deep 
degradation,  and  almost  brutalised.  Where  they  are  indepen- 
dent they  cannot  maintain  themselves  in  freedom,  but  fall  into 
abject  slavery  under  the  most  cruel  tyrants ;  but,  above  all, 
are  they  "  servants  of  servants  unto  their  brethren."  It  is  the 
office  of  Christianity,  by  the  power  of  Him  who  maketh  "  all 
things  new,"  to  remove  this  original  curse  when  "  the  Morians' 
land  shall  stretch  out  their  hand  unto  God : "  Ps.  Ixviii.  31. 
The  curse  affects  the  whole  descendants  of  Ham,  as  the  sin  was 


GENESIS  IX.  26-29.  73 

committed  by  him  ;  but  Noali  mentions  be^^ond  the  others  that 
son  whose  descendants,  by  reason  of  accumulated  guilt,  were 
mven  over  to  destruction. 

Ver.  26.  His  servant — lit.  their  servant,  i.e.,  of  the  Semites. 
Instead  of  promising  the  blessing  to  Shem,  Noah  praises  the 
Lord  Jehovah,  the  God  of  the  covenant.  He  thereby  signifies 
that  on  the  revelation  of  the  living  God,  and  the  continuance  of 
Ilis  covenant,  depends  the  blessing  which  should  come  to  Shem. 

Ver.  27.  Enlarge  Japhet. — The  name  of  God  is  here  changed, 
to  signify  that  Jehovah,  the  revealed  God  of  the  covenant,  was 
unknown  to  the  descendants  of  Japhet ;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Creator  of  the  world  will  bless  them  by  making  Japhet  broad. 
His  descendants  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  the  Semites  —  be 
received  kindly  by  them ;  be  made  also  partakers  of  the  blessing 
promised  to  them.  In  this  prophetic  glance  is  promised  to  the 
heathens  of  Western  Asia  and  Europe  the  closest  reception  into 
the  covenant  of  God,  of  which,  at  the  time  when  Moses  wrote 
these  words  of  Noah  —  nay,  even  a  thousand  years  later — 
there  was  not  the  slightest  prospect.  The  Canaanites  who 
were  not  rooted  out  or  subjected  by  the  Israelites,  were,  after  a 
short  season  of  prosperity,  brought  into  bondage  to  the  Japhetic 
nations,  and  never  afterwards  recovered  power.  Here,  then,  in 
a  few  words,  is  the  course  of  the  history  of  the  human  family 
pointed  out  in  a  prophecy  which  is  at  once  the  blessing  and  curse 
of  a  father  upon  his  sons.  At  the  same  time,  the  holiness  of  the 
paternal  relationship  and  of  God's  ordinances  among  men  is 
solemnly  maintained. 

Ver.  29.  He  died. — The  last  who  attained  so  great  an  age. 
But  it  was  of  consequence  for  the  maintenance  and  handing 
down  of  the  history,  that  he  should  die  not  before  the  year  2006, 
two  years  before  the  birth  of  Abraham. 


74  GENESIS  X.  1,  2. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  genealogical  table  given  us  in  this  chap,  is  a  very  remark- 
able ancient  tradition.  It  shows  us  the  connection  and  the 
severance  of  the  nations  of  the  old  world,  according  to  their  posi- 
tion towards  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Those  nations 
which  had  most  influence  on  it  in  its  course  are  minutely 
reckoned  up  ;  others,  which  had  but  a  remote  connection  there- 
Avith,  are  scarcely  touched  on.  We  learn  from  Eg}'ptian  re- 
mains of  its  earliest  history  how  extensive  w^ere  both  the  con- 
quests and  the  pacific  intercourse  of  this  land.  But  still  there  is 
no  account  of  antiquity  which  can  be  compared,  in  accuracy  and 
comprehensiveness,  with  the  view  of  ancient  nations  afforded  us 
in  this  genealogical  table. 

The  names  are  generally,  though  not  always,  personal  names. 
Among  them  may  be  found  also  the  names  of  many  nations,  as, 
e.g.,  ver.  13,  14.  The  particular  persons  mentioned  are  to  be 
understood  as  the  forefathers  or  heads  of  the  people. 

The  order  of  the  sons  of  Noah  is  here  reversed  (ver.  2). 
Japhet,  who  was  probably  the  youngest  son,  stands  first,  be- 
cause Shem's  posterity  have  more  direct  connection  with. the 
history  which  follows. 

Ver.  1.  Shem,  etc. — By  means  of  this  repetition  the  genealo- 
gical table  is  connected  with  ch.  ix.  18. 

Ver.  2.  Gomer. — The  wide-spread  people  of  the  Cimmerians, 
Cymri,  Cymbri,  whose  memory  was  preserved  among  the  ancients 
in  the  name  of  the  Cimmerian  Bosphorus  (the  Straits  of  CafFa), 
and  in  modern  times  in  that  of  the  peninsula  Crimea.  Anciently 
they  settled  in  the  north  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of 
Asoph  ;  from  whence  afterwards  they  extended  farther  to  the 
nortli-west.  This  people  is  mentioned  Ezek.  xxxviii.  6,  as  one 
which  should  come  with  the  host  of  Gog. 

Magog. — The  people  whom  the  Greeks  called  "  Scythians,"' 
in  the  north  of  Western  Asia.  In  Ezek.  xxxviii.  and  xxxix. 
they  appear  only  as  the  emblem  of  the  wild  people,  who  figlit 
against  the  kingdom  of  God ;  as  likewise  Rev.  xx.  8,  9.  As  the 
Cimmerians — Gomer — were  the  progenitors  of  the  original  people 


GENESIS  X.  3,  i.  75 

of  Gaul  and  Britain — the  Celts,  Erse,  so  probably  were  tlie 
Scythians — Mago^j — the  forefathers  of  the  Germans. 

Madai. — The  "Medes."  This  name  occurs  also  Jer.  li.  11,  28  ; 
Isa.  xiii.  17,  18,  ch.  xxi.  2  ;  and  Esth.  i.  19.  The  people  whicli 
spoke  the  ancient  Zend  language,  and  afterwards  formed  the 
])eople  of  the  ]\ledes  and  Persians.  According  to  modern  re- 
searches, tliev  are  allied  by  origin  and  language  with  the  Hindoos, 
Celts,  Germans,  and  Greeks. 

Javan  is  the  same  name  with  "  Ion,"  which  word  was  some- 
what changed  by  the  Greeks,  and  called  "  laon."  The  lonians 
are  the  original  inhabitants  of  Greece,  who  called  themselves 
"Autochthones" — i.e.,  spring  from  the  earth,  in  opposition  to 
the  Dorians,  who  settled  there  afterwards.  Afterwards  they 
spread  into  Asia  Minor,  and  even  farther  by  means  of  colonies. 
Alexander  is  called,  Dan.  viii.  21,  the  king  of  Javan  in  a  wider 
sense. 

Mesech  and  Tubal  generally  occur  together,  Ezck.  xxxviii.  2, 
ch.  xxxix.  1,  ch.  xxxii.  26;  and  they  are  the  people  called  by 
the  Greeks  "  Moschi "  and  "  Tibareni,"  on  the  rivers  Phasis 
and  Cyrus  (Kur)  in  N.  Armenia  and  Georgia. 

Tiras. — An  obscure  name,  which  only  occurs  here ; — perhaps 
the  "  Tyrseni "  or  "  Tyrrheni,"  a  people  related  to  the  ancient 
Pelasgi,  or  one  and  the  same  with  that  people,  which  in  the 
most  early  periods  wandered  through  Greece  and  Italy,  and  be- 
came masters  of  the  sea.  They  were  probably  related  to  the 
Etrusci-Tuscians  (in  Tuscany),  and  even  to  the  Dorians.  Others 
suppose  them  to  be  the  Thracians. 

Ver.  3.  Askenaz. — A  people  not  certainly  known  ;  perhaps  in 
Asia  Minor.  There  is  no  reason  for  thinking  of  Germany, 
which  the  present  Jews  so  name.  Perhaps  the  Basques  in  N. 
Spain  are  intended. 

Riphath. — The  Eiphaian  mountains  ('P/Ta7a  o^Tj,  Strabo)  are 
mentioned  by  the  Greeks  as  situated  in  the  extreme  north  (the 
fabulous  Hyperborean  regions),  without  further  description. 

Togarmah. — This  people  also  is  mentioned  Ezek.  xxxviii.  G, 
as  marching  out  of  the  north  against  the  kingdom  of  God.  It 
brings,  according  to  Ezck.  xxvii.  14,  horses  and  mules  to  the 
fairs  of  Tyrus.  Ancient  tradition  agrees  in  understanding  this 
people  as  the  Armenians. 

Ver.    4.    Dodanim. — Four    nations    who    sprang    from    the 


76  GENESIS  X.  5,  6. 

lonians,  or  are  related  to  tliem.  "  Elis,"  the  western  territory 
of  Peloponnesus  or  Hellas,  the  middle  of  Greece,  is  the  first. 
"  Tharsisch  "  (so  the  Heb.)  is  often  mentioned  as  a  distant  land. 
We  read,  Jon.  i.  3,  of  a  "ship  going  to  Tarshish ;"  and  the 
ships  of  Tarshish  in  the  Mediterranean  receive  the  news  of  the 
fiill  of  Tyre  (Isa.  xxiii.  1).  It  was  a  great  place  of  trade,  from 
whence  silver,  iron,  tin,  and  lead  were  brought  to  Tyre;  all 
•which  points  to  Spain,  where  Tartessus  (called  also  Tarseion  by 
the  Greeks)  was  a  Phoenician  colony.  There  are  also  traces  to 
be  found  among  the  ancients  of  this  land  having  been  in  very 
early  times  inhabited  by  a  people  wlio  were  connected  in  blood 
with  the  Greeks,  and  of  their  having  been  subdued  by  the  Phoe- 
nicians from  Tyre ;  and  in  Isa.  xxiii.  10  the  Hebrew  has  it, 
"  Pass  through  like  to  the  Nile,  thy  land,  thou  (who  through  the 
fall  of  Tyre  art  again  become  free)  daughter  of  Tarschisch  :  no 
girdle  holds  thee  any  more."  "  Cittim "  points  to  the  island 
Cyprus,  where  was  the  town  "  Cituim,"  also  in  old  times  inha- 
bited by  the  Greeks.  There  also  appears  in  the  Macedonians  to 
have  been  some  remains  of  this  name,  since  Alexander  is  called 
(1  Mace.  i.  1,  and  viii.  5)  the  king  of  Chittim;  also  the  two 
first  letters  of  Italy  are  connected  with  this  word.  "  Dodanim  " 
reminds  us  of  the  ancient  oracle  "  Dodona,"  in  Epirus.  The 
other  reading,  "  Rodanim,"  would  make  us  think  of  the  island 
Rhodus. 

Ver.  5.  Isles  of  Gentiles. — In  Scripture  "Islands"  often  mean 
such  people  as  are  situated  on  the  sea-coast,  or  inhabit  countries 
intersected  by  bays.  Here  are  meant  all  the  northern  countries 
over  the  Mediterranean,  from  Asia  Minor  to  Spain. 

Ver.  6.  Cusli  is  synonymous  with  the  name  "  Ethiopians," 
which  was  used  by  the  ancient  Greeks  very  indefinitely,  and  in- 
cluded the  inhabitants  of  the  middle  of  Africa,  a  part  of  Arabia, 
and  perhaps  even  farther — the  south  of  Asia.  In  later  times 
the  name  was  confined  to  Africa,  and  especially  Abyssinia. 

Mizraim. — This  is  the  Hebrew  name  of  Egypt — a  form  of  the 
dual — either  because  Eg}'pt  was  divided  into  two  halves  by  the 
river  Nile,  or  from  the  union  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt.  "  The 
two  Mazor"  (this  is  the  singular  form,  and  signifies  Lower 
Egypt),  as  we  say  "  Kings  of  the  two  Sicilies." 

Phut. — There  is  a  river  of  this  name  in  Mauritania,  in  North 
Africa  (now  Algeria  and  Morocco),  mentioned  at  a  later  period. 


GENESIS  X.  7-10.  77 

Canaan. — The  name  signifies,  probably,  "  the  lower  country 
— Netherlands."  This  is  the  forefather  of  the  people  who  after- 
wards inhabited  the  Promised  Land  and  the  line  of  country  at  the 
foot  of  Lebanon — Palestine  and  Phisnicia.  They  were  partly 
exterminated  and  driven  out  of  a  great  portion  of  their  country 
by  the  Israelites.  They  became,  however,  extremely  rich  and 
powerful  by  trade  and  inventions,  and  settled  in  Greece,  Spain, 
and  Africa ;  in  this  last  country  they  founded  Carthage.  So  late 
as  the  sixth  century  after  Christ  the  inhabitants  of  the  terri- 
tory, now  Algeria,  about  Hippo  (the  present  Bona),  called  them- 
selves Canaanites,  as  Augustine  tells  us. 

Ver.  7.  Dedan. — All  people  and  places  in  the  south  of  Arabia 
and  East  Africa.  Scheba  is  supposed  to  be  the  ancient 
"  Meroe  "  in  Nubia,  on  the  Nile. 

Ver.  8.  Nimrod. — The  name  Nimrod  means,  "  let  us  exalt 
ourselves."  By  this  name,  which,  perhaps,  first  was  applied  to 
him  by  the  people  because  often  on  his  lips,  is  the  first  person 
designated  who  acquired  great  dominion  by  force.  He  was 
especially  "  a  mighty  one,"  a  hero — a  word  which  is  used  in  a 
good  sense — nay,  is  used  of  God  Himself.  Here,  however,  it 
points  to  the  origin  of  his  power — by  war.  The  "  mighty 
hunter  "  denotes  also  his  wild,  unrestrained  disposition — a  man 
who  delighted  in  bold,  rash,  hazardous  undertakings,  whether  in 
sport  or  earnest.  A  wild  hunter's  life  is  a  degenerate  one  as 
compared  with  the  peaceful  herdsman  life,  ch.  xxv.  27.  In 
order  to  understand  this  we  must  consider  how  different  would 
hunting  be  in  a  peaceful,  well-ordered  state  of  society,  and  in  a  con- 
dition quite  uncultivated  and  rude.  Its  consequences  would  be — 
neglect  of  the  service  of  God,  of  the  rights  of  property,  of  trade 
and  arts.  The  prevalence  of  this  occupation  would  contribute 
to  bring  everything  down  to  the  lowest  state  of  barbarism.  The 
addition,  "  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord  "  (Jehovah),  is  of 
importance,  as  it  expresses,  "  in  defiance  of  Him"  to  His  ftice 
did  he  lead  this  wild,  tyrannical,  devastating  life.  This  descrip- 
tion of  him,  and  the  proverbial  saying  which  is  added  by  way  ol 
confirming  the  statement,  is  to  be  taken  in  close  conjunction 
with  the  description  of  his  conquests  which  follows. 

Ver.  10.  Shinur. — Shinar  is,  as  the  passage  before  us  shows, 
a  country  lying  south  of  Assyria,  in  which,  according  to  ch. 
xi.  2,  Babel  was  situated — the  south  of  Mesopotamia,  between 


78  GENESIS  X.  11,  12. 

Euphrates  and  Tigris,  called  afterwards  Babylonia.  "Babel' 
is  the  great,  ancient,  mighty  city  on  the  Euphrates ;  in  later 
times,  under  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  seat  of  the  vast  Chaldean 
Empire,  the  centre  of  the  civilisation  of  the  old  world,  and  also 
of  a  corrupt,  impure  idolatry ;  the  place  from  whence  proceeded, 
first  the  depravation,  eventually  the  humiliation  and  destruction 
of  the  kingdom  of  Judah — God's  outward  kino;dom  under  the 
O.  T.  dispensation.  It  is  therefore  the  emblem  and  representa- 
tion of  the  spiritual,  hostile,  antichristian  power  in  the  Revela- 
tion of  St  John.  The  city  "  Erech  "  is  perhaps  "  Ai^ehka,"  on 
the  borders  of  Babylonia  and  Susiana.  "  Accad  "  is  altogether 
unknown  ;  and  "  Calneh,"  which  also  occurs  Amos  vi.  2,  and 
Ezek.  xxvii.  23,  as  a  trading  city,  is  perhaps  the  "  Ctesiphon  " 
of  later  times,  on  the  east  shore  of  the  Tigris,  opposite  Silencia. 

Ver.  11.  AssJiur. — Heb. :  "  From  this  land  went  he  forth — 
viz.,  Nimrod — towards  Assyria."  This,  the  oldest  tyrant,  founded 
therefore  an  important  empire,  which,  however,  reaches  back  to 
such  very  early  times,  that  beyond  what  is  said  here,  every  other 
trace  of  it  has  utterly  vanished;  nay,  of  almost  all  the  towns 
which  were  built  by  him  we  have  no  further  certain  mention, 
either  in  the  Bible  or  elsewhere. 

Ver.  12.  A  great  city. — Heb.:  "  This  is  tlie  great  city  " — i.e.,  the 
greatest  among  those  mentioned.  How  far  back  these  notices 
go  we  may  learn  from  the  fact,  that  of  this  great  city,  "  Resen," 
which  was  greater  than  Nineveh,  not  the  least  trace  further  is 
given  us.  As  the  forenamed  were  Babylonish,  so  these  are 
Assyrian  towns.  Nineveh  is  the  celebrated  metropolis  of  the 
Assyrian  Empire,  which  afterwards  attained  such  an  extraor- 
dinary eminence  in  wealth  and  power,  and  which,  for  purposes 
of  trade,  enjoyed  unusual  advantages.  According  to  the  Greeks, 
it  was  built  by  the  fabulous  king  Ninus,  and  is  often  mentioned 
under  that  name.  According  to  Jon.  iii.  3,  it  had  a  circum- 
ference of  three  days' journey,  and  accordingly  was  larger  than 
Babylon.  Walls  of  great  height  and  breadth  surrounded  it.  In 
the  year  G25  B.C.,  it  was  destroyed  by  the  Medes  under  Cyax- 
ares.  Its  ruins  have  been  discovered  in  recent  times  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Tigris,  opposite  the  great  town  Wosul,  where 
the  village  Nunia  yet  retains  a  memento  of  the  old  name.  The 
city  Rehoboth  and  Calah  in  Assyria  are  altogether  unknown. — 
We  have  here,  then,  the  account  of  the  most  ancient  great  king- 


GENESIS  X.  U,  18.  79 

dom  wliicli  was  founded  by  earthly  miglit,  and  in  defiance  of  the 
Lord,  and  which  hastened  the  corruption  of  rehgion,  whereby  the 
call  of  Abraham  and  his  leaving  his  country  became  necessary. 

Ver.  14.  Caphtorim. — Here  occurs  a  list  of  people  who  are 
descended  from  Mizraim,  i.e.,  Egypt,  of  whom,  however,  the  first 
four  are  entirely  unknown,  unless  perhaps  in  Lehahim  we  may 
recognise  the  ancient  name  of  Africa — Libya.  We  often  meet 
with  "Pathros"  in  the  Old  Testament  for  Upper  Egypt,  the 
original  seat  of  the  people.  Some  consider  the  "  Casluhim"  to 
be  the  Colchi  in  North  Armenia  on  the  Phasis,  who,  according 
to  tlie  Greek  account,  descended  from  an  Egyptian  colony 
settled  there.  Li  the  following  names  a  change  of  orjder  appears 
to  have  taken  place,  so  that  properly  the  sentence,  "  out  of  whom 
came  Philistim,"  should  stand  after  Caphtorim,  since  elsewhere 
in  the  Old  Testament  it  is  distinctly  said  that  the  Philistines 
"  came  out  of  Caphtor"  (Jer.  xlvii.  4 ;  Amos  ix.  7).  Caphtor 
is  most  probably  Crete,  now  Candia,  situated  opposite  Egypt, 
from  whence  it  could  be  easily  peopled ;  hence  the  Philistines 
are  expressly  called  "  Cretes,"  Cherethims  (1  Sam.  xxx.  14  ; 
Ezek.  XXV.  16 ;  Zeph.  ii.  5).  The  name  Philistine  means 
"  Emigrant,"  by  which  they  were  distinguished  from  the  native 
Canaanites.  They  dwelt  in  the  south-east  of  the  land  of 
Canaan,  which  received  from  them  the  name  Peleschet — Pa- 
lestina. 

Ver.  18.  Canaanites. — The  Canaanitish  tribes  who  spread 
themselves  over  the  country  afterwards  called  Palestina,  over 
Phoenicia  and  a  part  of  Syria.  Zidon  means  "  fishing ;"  so  that 
this  son  of  Canaan  settled  on  a  sea-coast,  well  suited  for  a  fishing 
settlement,  or  he  received  his  name  from  having  done  so,  or  the 
later  name  of  the  place  was  transferred  to  the  founder.  Zidon, 
called  by  the  Greeks  Sidon,  now  Saide,  is  the  ancient  mighty 
metropolis  of  the  Phoenicians— rich  by  means  of  its  inventions 
and  trade — from  whence  in  later  times  the  still  more  powerful 
Tyrus,  Zor  or  Tor,  had  its  origin,  which  about  the  time  of 
David  began  to  be  of  importance.  The  Phoenicians  also  are  espe- 
cially called  "  Sidonians."  As  this  place  remained  afterwards  at 
peace  with  the  adjacent  settlements  of  the  Israelites,  these  latter 
became  corrupted  by  idolatrous  Phoenician  worship  :  Judges  x. 
6,  12.  "  Iletli,"  properly  "  Cheth,"  the  forcfothcr  of  the  lictli- 
ites,  who  dwelt  about  Hebron  and  Beersheba,  in  the  southern 


«U  GENESIS  X.  19-21. 

interior  of  Palestine.  The  "Jebusites"  dwelt  on  tlie  moun- 
tainous country  about  Jerusalem,  which  was  in  earlier  times 
called  "  Jebus,"  and  maintained  themselves  in  possession  until 
subdued  by  David  (2  Sam.  v.).  "  Amorite,"  one  of  the  greatest 
of  the  Canaanitish  tribes,  so  that  the  whole  people  of  them  was 
so  called  (ch.  xv.  16)  ;  but  more  particularly  the  south-western 
tribes  bore  that  name,  which  even  in  the  time  of  Moses  possessed 
two  kingdoms  on  the  other  side  Jordan,  under  Sihon  and  Og. 
The  "  Girgasite"  dwelt  in  the  north ;  the  "  Hivite,"  properly 
"  Chivvite,"  in  the  northern  part  of  Palestine,  at  the  foot  of 
Lebanon,  and  over  the  mountainous  district  as  far  as  Hamath  ; 
the  "  Arkite"  points  to  the  Phoenician  town  Arkanosh,  the  pre- 
sent Tripolis.  There  are  traces  of  the  "  Senites"  in  the  same 
reirion.  The  "  Arvadites"  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  island 
"  Aradus,"  to  the  north  of  Phoenicia  ;  the  "  Zemarites"  possibly 
those  who  lived  in  a  fortified  place,  "  Simyra,"  at  the  foot  of 
Lebanon ;  the  "  Hamathites"  about  "  Hamat,"  the  later  Syrian 
town  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Damascus,  on  the  Orontes,  which 
still  under  the  same  name  is  a  considerable  place  of  trade. 

Ver  19.  Lasha. — They  inhabited,  therefore,  in  the  most  ancient 
times  the  whole  land  from  the  later  Phoenicia  to  the  southern 
and  western  borders  of  Palestina  towards  Arabia.  Gerar  lies, 
according  to  ch.  xx.  1,  between  Cades  and  Sur,  on  the  south 
border.  Gaza  is  the  later  town  of  the  Philistines,  situated  on 
the  south-western  point  towards  Egypt,  and  still  bears  that  name. 
"  Sodom,  Gomorrah,  Admah,  and  Zeboim,"  are  the  towns  in  the 
valley  of  the  Jordan  which  were  destroyed  by  fire,  the  site  of 
which  is  now  occupied  by  the  Dead  Sea.  Lasha  lay  apparently 
on  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  possessed  hot  sulphur  springs, 
to  which  it  owes  its  name  "Kallirhoe"  ("beautiful  spring"), 
given  it  by  the  Greeks.  We  here  find  the  most  ancient  posi- 
tions and  relations  of  these  regions  mentioned  before  the  Philis- 
tines dwelt  in  the  land,  such  as  Abraham  met  with  in  the  south 
of  Palestine  before  the  destruction  of  Sodom. 

Ver.  20.  Sons  of  Ham. — The  descendants  of  Ham,  therefore, 
inhabited  the  southern  regions  of  the  earth,  yet  they  penetrated 
as  far  north  as  Crete,  Phoenicia,  and  Syria. 

Ver.  21.  Eber. — "Eber"  occurs,  ver.  24,  among  the  descen- 
dants of  Shem.  He  was  the  forefather  of  the  Arabians  and  Is- 
raelites. The  latter  have  received  from  him  the  name  "  Hebrews," 


GENESIS  X.  22-25.  81 

which  they  bore  among  foreigners,  as  the  Canaanites  were 
called  "Phanicians"  by  the  Greeks,  and  the  country  which 
was  called  Egypt  by  the  Greeks  was  named  Mizraira  by  the 
Israelites,  but  "  Chemi "  by  the  natives  themselves. 

Ver.  22.  Elam. — Elam  occurs  afterwards,  ch.  xiv.  1,  as  the 
kingdom  of  Chedorlaomer ;  in  later  times,  often  as  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Assyrians  and  Persians.  We  are  to  understand 
under  this  term  the  tract  of  country  which  lies  immediately  east  of 
Babylon,  with  its  warlike  people  the  Elamites,  close  on  the  borders 
of  Persia. —  "  Assur,"  the  Assyrians.  Assyria,  properly  speaking, 
is  the  land  east  of  the  Tigris,  between  Armenia,  Media,  and 
Susiana,  whose  capital  was  Nineveh,  now  a  part  of  Persia ;  fre- 
quently, \n  later  times,  the  great  kingdom  which  sprung  from  this 
country  is  so  called. 

Arphaxad  is  an  Assyrian  tract  of  country,  called  by  the 
Greeks  Arrhapachitis. — Lud  are  the  Lydians,  in  the  Avest  of 
Asia  ]\Iinor,  afterwards  (with  their  capital  Sardis)  a  busy,  rich, 
but  luxiu'ious  and  corrupt  people,  which,  under  their  king, 
Croesus,  in  the  time  of  the  Persian  king  Cyrus,  attained  a  rapid 
but  transient  prosperity. — Aram,  the  root  of  the  Aramaeans,  who 
dwelt  in  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  and  in  language  assimilated  to 
the  Israelites.  This  language,  which  divided  itself  into  the  two 
dialects,  Syriac  and  Chaldaic,  is  still  in  some  parts  a  living 
tongue. 

Ver.  23.  Uz. — After  Uz  was  called  the  land  in  which  Joli 
lived  (Job  i.  1).  It  lay  probably  east  of  Palestine,  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Edom  and  Arabia. — Hid,  probably  a  Syriac  tract  of 
country,  Chull,  near  the  sources  of  the  Jordan. —  G ether  is  un- 
known.— Mash,  possibly  the  region  of  Mount  Masais,  on  the 
borders  of  Syria  and  Armenia,  above  "  Nisibis." 

Ver.  25.  Divided. — The  three  names,  Salah  (properly  Sclie- 
lah),  Eber,  and  Peleg,  are  very  significant.  The  first  means  a 
missile  as  well  as  an  offshoot,  sprig — something  discharged  ;  the 
second  means  "  on  the  other  side  ;"  and  the  third,  '•  division" — 
something  divided,  especially  by  water,  Avhich  is  separated  into 
channels.  These  names  point  to  the  wanderings  and  divisicrs 
of  the  original  tribes.  In  this  hne  of  thj  Semites,  in  which 
issued  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  most  imp  irtant  portion  of  the 
history  of  the  Avorld  occurred,  and  so  the  heads  of  the  nations 
bear  emblematic  names.     With  Peleg  and  his  descendants  the 


82  GENESIS  X.  29,  30  ;   XI. 

order  of  the  families  breaks  off,  since  a  point  is  now  reached 
where,  in  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  a  new  era  com- 
mences through  the  confusion  of  tongues.  Only  after  the  nar- 
ration of  this  event  is  the  genealogy  of  Peleg's  family  continued. 

JoJctan. — The  forefather  of  the  Southern  Arabians. 

Ver.  29.  Johah. — The  names  are  here  given  of  Arabian  tribes 
and  districts.  Among  these,  Ophir  is  known  in  later  times  as 
the  gold  country,  from  whence  Solomon's  fleet  brought  precious 
metal  to  increase  his  treasures.  It  was  probably  a  haven  on  the 
south  coast  of  Arabia. 

Ver.  30.  A  mount  of  the  East. — These  indistinct  boundaries 
seem  to  point,  in  general,  to  Eastern  and  Southern  Arabia. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Man's  "  evil  imagination,"  which  remained  after  the  flood,  now 
took  a  different  direction,  and  shows  itself  in  an  impious  attempt 
to  unite  the  whole  of  mankind  in  rebellion  against  God. 

The  first  land  peopled  after  the  flood  was  Sinear  (Schinar), 
Mesopotamia,  or  Babylonia.  The  two  great  rivers,  Euphrates 
and  Tigris,  water  this  tract  of  country,  which  in  ancient  times 
was  renowned  for  its  fertility,  though  now  a  baiTen  plain. 
Human  skill  added  wonderfully  to  the  natural  fruitfulness  of  the 
district,  so  that  it  became  capable  of  sustaining  a  very  large  popu- 
lation. The  vast  plain  has  a  gentle  declension  from  west  to  east. 
The  Euphrates,  when  the  snow  melts  on  the  mountains,  overflows 
its  banks,  and  descends  into  the  level  country  of  Mesopotamia. 
From  this  circumstance  the  inhabitants  were  induced,  at  an 
early  period  in  its  history,  to  convey  the  water  by  means  of 
canals  over  the  whole  country ;  so  that  in  time  it  was  entirely 
intersected  by  these  tributaries  from  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris. 
Herod,  speaks  as  an  eye-witness  of  the  astonishing  fertility  of 
Babylonia  (B.  1,  193)  :  "  This  country  is  by  far  the  best  I  know 
for  the  production  of  wheat,  for  it  does  not  attempt  to  grow  any 
other  plants,  figs,  vines,  or  olives ;  but  it  is  so  adapted  for  the 
growing  of  wheat,  that  it  commonly  returns  two  hundredfold, 
and  when  it  produces  the  best  crops,  as  much  as  three  hundred- 


GENESIS  XI.  1-4.  83 

fold.  The  blades  of  wheat  and  barley  grow  fully  to  the  breadth 
of  four  fingers ;  as  to  the  size  that  the  plants  of  millet  and  sesame 
reach,  I  shall  not  mention,  though  I  know  it,  as  I  am  fully  con- 
vinced that  those  who  have  not  been  there  will  not  believe  it." — 
In  the  history  before  us,  we  find  the  building  of  the  Tower  re- 
presented in  three  points  of  view.  The  builders  wished  to  get 
themselves  a  name.  Here  was  simple  ambition.  Next,  they 
held  out  a  defiance  to  God  :  the  height  should  reach  to  heaven. 
His  dwelling-place.  Moreover,  the  Tower  should  form  a  centre  of 
union  for  the  whole  family  of  man.  Here  was  reliance  on  their 
own  power.  Tlie  punishment  inflicted  is  very  significant.  Hu- 
mility and  love,  the  bonds  which  join  us  to  God,  could  alone 
unite  men.  Self-seeking  separates  them.  -God  divides  them  by 
the  confusion  of  tongues,  before  they  could  carry  their  godless 
enterprise  into  execution.  Hence  were  formed  different  families 
of  nations,  each  confined  to  itself,  and  in  hostile  relation  towards 
others.  The  heathen  world  knew  nothing  of  the  unity  of  the 
human  race,  until  the  Gospel  of  Christ  appeared,  to  teach  men 
that  they  were  all  of  one  blood,  all  had  one  common  head,  all 
had  one  God  as  their  Father ;  then  the  tongues  of  men,  di^'ided 
through  pride  at  Babel,  were  united  by  love  and  humility  at  Zion. 

Ver.  1.  One  sj^eech. — This  original  speech  of  mankind  was, 
according  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  Hebrew, —  since  all  the  names 
which  have  hitherto  occurred  are  Hebrew  :  a  language  of  a 
simple  unchanging  form,  of  great  richness  in  all  subjects  which 
concern  man's  relationship  to  God  :  a  spiritual  language,  adapt- 
ing itself  readily  to  ex])ress  the  inward  idea,  but  with  few  words, 
in  which  the  sound  imitates  the  thing  signified, — not,  therefore, 
pliable  for  the  uses  of  practical  life,  nor  well  adapted  for  the 
expression  of  merely  intellectual  notions. 

Ver.  2.  From  the  east,  or  rather  (according  to  margin)  east- 
ward ;  i.e.,  fi'om  Armenia  south-eastward. 

Ver.  3.  Slime  for  mortar. — In  Babylonia  there  are  no  stone- 
quarries.  The  lately  discovered  ruins  show  that  bricks,  dried  or 
burnt  in  the  sun,  were  used  for  building  material,  which  were 
united  by  asphalt.  The  country  abounds  in  asphalt  and  bitu- 
men. This  cement  is  so  firm,  that  even  now  the  stones  can  only 
be  separated  from  each  other  by  hammering. 

Ver.  4.  Let  us  huild. — In  ancient  Babylon  there  existed  an 
enormous  tower  with  a  temple  of  Bel  us,  square,  a  quarter  of  an 


84  GENESIS  XI.  5,  7. 

English  mile  long  each  side  ;  in  the  middle,  a  square  tower  half 
as  long  and  broad  ;  on  this  another  ;  and  so  on  to  the  number  of 
eight  of  them.  Around  all  these  towers  there  was  an  ascent  with 
seats ;  on  the  last  tower  stood  a  vast  temple,  with  a  gilded  seat  and 
golden  table,  but  without  any  image.  Lately,  the  mighty  ruins 
of  this  building  have  been  discovered  and  described.  It  is  now 
called  "  Birs  Nimrud" — Nimrod's  Hill.  From  the  east  side  it 
appears  as  a  longish  hill,  the  base  of  which  is  above  2000  feet  in 
circumference.  The  present  height,  up  to  the  floor  of  the  tower 
which  stands  thereon,  is  200  feet ;  the  tower  35.  From  the  west 
side  it  has  a  pyramidical  form.  It  is  made  of  beautiful  fire-burnt 
bricks.  Only  three  out  of  the  eight  stories  of  which  the  tower 
consisted  can  now  be  discovered.  This  appears  to  be  the  remains 
of  the  tower  which  the  sons  of  men  built  at  the  time  spoken 
of  in  the  text,  and  is  perhaps  the  oldest  ruin  in  the  whole 
world. 

Ver.  5.  Ziord  came  doivii. — "  God  cometh  down  when  He 
condescends  to  mark  what  men  are  doing,  and  to  punish  sinners  ; 
and  these  confident  men,  who  thought  He  was  far  ofl:'  and  did 
not  see  their  deeds,  found  that  He  is  very  nigh  to  them,  and 
can  soon  find  means  of  chastising  them." — Luther.  Probably  a 
visible  manifestation  of  the  Lord  was  made,  whereby  He  revealed 
to  His  elect  the  meaning  of  the  wonderful  punishment  which 
was  to  follow.  At  the  same  time,  every  manifestation  of  God  on 
earth,  spoken  of  in  the  Old  Testament,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
pre-signification  of  His  coming  in  the  flesh  for  grace  and  judg- 
ment, just  as  His  ascent  is  to  be  looked  on  as  a  forerunner  of 
the  lifting  up  of  the  Son  of  God  in  His  ascension  into  heaven : 
Eph.  iv.  9,  10. 

Ver.  7.  Jjct  lis  go  cJoioit. — The  words,  "  Let  us,"  point  out  to 
us  the  Father  taking  counsel  with  the  Son  :  see  ch.  i.  26.  The 
confusion  of  languages  is  not  to  be  supposed  to  consist  in 
the  forcible,  arbitrary  disruption  of  the  words  and  forms  of 
speech,  but  in  a  sudden  separation  of  tlie  languages,  all  from 
one  point.  Recent  philological  inquiries  have  been  so  far  pur- 
sued, that  the  original  affinity  of  the  greater  part  of  the  more 
known  languages  is  acknowledged,  and  the  common  descent  of  all 
supposed.  While,  then,  the  proof  of  the  original  branching  out 
of  all  tongues  from  one  root  is  being  sought  by  means  of  investi- 
gation, we   may,  according   to  what  Holy  Scripture  tells   us, 


GENESIS  XI.  7.  85 

Avell  imagine  the  separation  to  have  taken  place  thus :  Men  de- 
sired, in  their  presumption  and  defiance  of  God,  to  unite  them- 
selves against  Ilim  ;  but  that  which  was  intended  for  their  union 
proved  the  means  of  separation.  God  allowed  the  feuds  between 
themselves,  engendered  by  selfishness  which  already  existed,  to 
express  itself  in  their  language.  In  the  building  of  the  great 
tower,  which  continued  many  years,  parties  had  been  formed 
among  them,  more  and  more,  according  to  their  families,  disposi- 
tions, affections,  and  business.  When  these  opposite  interests 
and  parties  existed,  it  only  required  the  impulse  of  a  slight 
necessity,  acting  without  and  within,  in  order  to  alienate  their 
language,  one  man's  from  another's.  At  a  time  when  the  spiritual 
mass  out  of  which  mankind  was  formed  was  most  susceptible 
of  every  impression,  God  permitted  this  division  among  men  to 
express  itself,  more  especially  in  their  speech ;  and  so  it  came  to 
pass  that,  during  the  building,  they  no  longer  understood  each 
others'  language, — {.  e.,  all,  according  to  their  tribes,  families,  and 
acquaintance,  were  severed  into  so  many  different  tongues.  We 
recognise  the  antitype  to  this  history  in  the  pouring  out  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  the  gift  of  tongues  among  the  first  Christians. 
"  After  the  flood,  proud  men  built  a  tower  to  hinder  their  being 
swept  away  by  another  flood,  should  it  ever  come,  as  if  they 
could  strengthen  themselves  against  God,  or  as  if  anything 
were  high  in  His  sight !  God  saw  their  pride,  and  let  them 
proceed  in  the  way  of  error  so  far  that  they  understood  not 
each  others'  language, — and  so  was  their  speech  confounded 
by  pride.  As  pride  had  severed  men's  language,  so  has  the 
humility  of  Christ  united  them  :  what  the  Tower  of  Babel  dis- 
persed, that  the  Church  of  the  Lord  has  united.  From  one 
speech  they  became  many :  marvel  not  at  it !  this  hath  pride 
done.  From  many  languages  they  became  one  :  marvel  not 
at  it !  for  this  hath  love  done.  For,  though  they  sound  dif- 
ferently, still  in  the  'heart  is  one  God  prayed  to,  and  one 
peace  kept." — S.  Augustine.  We  do  well  to  remember  this, 
that  the  redeemed  Church  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  did  not 
speak  one  language,  but  that  every  stranger  who  was  there  pre- 
sent heard  his  own  language  spoken.  The  diversity  of  tongues 
is  still  God's  will, — is  something  abiding  and  good  :  but  sin  was 
the  cause  of  the  false  unity  and  of  the  separation,  and  severed 
the  one  body  into  many  members ;  so  that  now  the  members  are 


86  GENESIS  XI.  8-31  ;   XII. 

strange  and  hostile  to  each  other.     This  was  the  judgment  in 
the  confusion  of  tongues. 

Ver.  8.  To  build  the  city. — It  remained,  of  course,  still  a  city ; 
but  the  great  work,  which  they  in  their  arrogance  had  designed, 
was  brought  to  nought. 

Ver.  9.  Bahel;  i.e.,  confusion.  So,  down  to  later  times,  the 
capital  of  a  mighty  empire  bore  in  its  name  the  memento  of  this 
event. 

Ver.  11.  Sons  and  dcmgliters. — Shem  lived  to  the  time  of  Abram. 

Ver  18.  Peleg. — The  genealogical  table  of  the  Semites  was 
(ch.  X.  24,  25)  carried  on  in  the  line  of  Peleg,  as  that  which 
kept  up  the  true  worship  of  God  on  earth,  and  stopped  at  the 
narrative  of  the  confusion  of  tongues.  After  the  event  has  been 
mentioned,  the  time  is  continued  up  to  Abram.  This  period  is 
remarkable  for  the  gradual  diminution  of  human  life. 

Ver.  29.  Saved. — She  was,  according  to  ch.  xx.  12,  his  half- 
sister — from  the  same  father. 

Ver.  31.  Harcin. — The  history  of  Terah  is  here  brought  to  an 
end,  in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  speaking  of  him  again, 
aiid  so  Abram's  call  may  be  continuously  narrated.  What  is 
here  said  in  point  of  chronology  anticipates  ch.  xii. —  Ur  lay, 
probably,  in  the  north  of  Mesopotamia. — Haran  was  the  town 
afterwards  called  Ghana,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Edessa,  where 
Crassus  was  defeated  by  the  Parthians.  From  Arrhapachitis,  in 
North-east  Assyria,  the  ancestors  of  the  people  of  Israel  passed 
through  the  north  of  Mesopotamia  and  the  north  of  Syria 
towards  Palestine. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AVith  the  narrative  of  the  call  of  Abram  begins  an  entirely 
new  era  in  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Idolatry  has 
spread  everywhere,  and  infected  even  the  family  of  Shem. 
Dread  of  the  Holy  God,  and  alienation  from  His  love,  led  men 
to  the  worship  of  nature  :  they  "  deemed  either  fire,  or  wind,  or 
the  circle  of  the  stars,  or  the  violent  water,  or  the  lights  of  heaven, 
to  be  the  gods  which  govern  the  world:"  Wisd.  xiii.  3.  Even 
Terah  and  his  family  served  other  gods,  Joshua  xxiv.  2 ;  not 


GENESIS  XII.  87 

that  they  were  completely  heathens,  but,  as  was  afterwards  the 
case  with  Nahor's  descendants,  their  religion  was  a  miserable 
mixture  of  fiilsehood  with  truth.  Then  Jehovah,  the  eternal 
living  God,  chooses  out  of  the  rest  of  the  world  a  son  of  Terah's, 
Eber's  descendant ;  reveals  Himself  to  him  as  the  personal,  only 
true  God,  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  Judge  of  the  whole 
world  :  ch.  xviii.  25.  He  enters  into  covenant  and  communion 
with  him,  bids  him  leave  his  country  and  home — both  of  them 
polluted  by  idolatry,  and  gives  him  the  promise  of  an  exceeding 
rich  blessing.  But  the  revelation,  promise,  and  favour  bestowed 
on  Abram  are  only  vouchsafed  to  him  in  order,  through  him  and 
his  descendants,  to  pour  on  the  whole  human  race  the  same 
blessing  of  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  communion  with  Him. 
While  God  confines  His  grace  to  a  single  chosen  family.  He 
declares  it  is  intended  for  all  men.  The  first  revelation  to  the 
great  forefather  of  the  Israelites  shows  that  the  Old  Testament 
knows  nothing  of  a  Jewish  national  God,  to  whom  the  rest  of 
the  world  is  alien. 

The  dealings  of  God  with  this  patriarch  and  his  descendants 
are  most  wonderful.  Not  so  much  by  means  of  doctrine  and 
exhortation  which  they  could  not  understand,  as  by  the  facts  of 
His  revelation,  does  He  purify,  fit,  and  elevate  them  to  be  His 
instruments.  In  Abram's  life  especially  do  we  see  how  the 
first  dark  promise  is  made  more  clear ;  then  followed  by  trials  of 
his  faith,  at  the  outset  light,  afterwards  increasing  in  severity. 
Hardly  is  anything  bestowed  and  a  prospect  opened,  when,  lo ! 
it  is  apparently  taken  aAvay,  and  the  future  is  clouded.  First  is 
promised,  indefinitely,  "  a  land  which  I  will  show  thee  ;"  then 
(ver.  7)  declared  that  Canaan  shall  be  given  to  his  seed.  Lot 
is  then  severed  by  a  friendly  agreement  from  the  common 
possession  (c.  xiii.).  Abram,  at  that  time  childless,  receives  the 
announcement  that  a  son  of  his  body  shall  be  his  heir,  and  a 
covenant  is  made  with  him  (ch.  xv.).  Ishmael,  now  born  to 
him,  is  separated  from  the  true  seed ;  and,  lastly,  the  truth  of 
God's  promise  is  revealed  in  tlie  birth  of  Isaac, — soon,  by  the 
severest  trial  of  his  faith,  apparently  taken  away  (ch.  xxii.),  only 
to  be  restored  with  still  richer  gifts. 

Abram  was  a  wealthy  independent  herdsman ;  such  as  are  still 
to  be  found  in  the  deserts  and  pasture  lands  of  Arabia,  Syria, 
Palestine — the  Bedouin  Emirs. 


88  GENESIS  XII. 

Separate  occupations  already  existed.  The  huntsman  was  the 
freest  of  all.  From  him  were  developed  the  warrior  and  the 
king.  The  men  who  pursued  agriculture,  built  houses  and 
tarns,  and  were  bound  to  the  soil,  seemed  the  most  settled  and 
secure.  The  lot  of  the  herdsman  appeared  the  most  uncertain, 
as  his  locality  was  so  changeable.  The  flocks  went  on  increasing 
almost  without  limit,  and  their  possessors  were  obliged  to  enlarge 
their  pastures  on  all  sides.  The  three  classes  appear  at  the 
beginning  to  have  regarded  each  other  with  mutual  dislike  and 
contempt.  The  herdsman  was  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of 
the  dweller  in  towns  (ch.  xliii.  32,  cli.  xlvi.  34),  who  lived  apart 
from  the  despised  caste.  The  huntsman  is  soon  lost  from  our 
sight  in  the  mountain  ranges,  and  only  appears  again  as  a  con- 
queror and  invader.  The  patriarchs  belonged  to  the  class  of 
herdsmen.  Their  manner  of  life  in  the  vast  plains  and  deserts 
was  favourable  to  freedom  of  mind  and  thought.  The  sight  of 
the  vast  firmament  under  which  they  lived,  with  its  myriads  of 
stars,  was  calculated  to  give  elevation  to  their  feelings ;  and  they 
experienced  more  than  the  active,  expert  huntsman,  more  than 
the  careful,  secure,  busy  cultivator  of  the  land,  the  need  of 
some  facts  on  which  to  rely — some  solid  conviction  that  God 
was  by  them — that  He  visited  them,  cared  for  them,  guided 
and  preserved  them.  Their  simple,  quiet,  unrestrained  mode  of 
life  was  adapted  to  render  their  hearts  open  to  receive  the  im- 
pression of  a  Divine  revelation ;  and  the  manner  of  revelation 
granted  them  was  in  accordance  with  their  simple,  childlike 
character — conveyed  to  them  through  the  eye  and  the  ear. 

The  "  deserts"  in  Scripture  are  the  uncultivated  tracts  of 
country,  often  fruitful  pastures.  Here  and  there  towns  were 
built  on  them.  On  these  steppes  the  herdsmen  tended,  and  still 
tend,  their  cattle.  They  drive  their  flocks  up  and  down  certain 
districts.  In  summer  they  turn  to  the  north,  to  the  mountainous 
country — in  Canaan  to  Lebanon,  whose  summit  is  covered  with 
perpetual  snow ;  in  the  winter,  to  the  lower  lands,  into  the  plain 
towards  the  Dead  Sea.  Their  tents  are  either  round,  resting  in 
the  middle  on  poles,  eight  or  ten  feet  high ;  or  oblong,  resting  on 
seven  to  nine  poles,  of  which  three  are  higher  than  the  others — 
the  middle  one  the  highest.  The  covering  is  a  thick  black 
material,  made  of  goats'  or  camels'  hair, — this,  tightly  stretched, 
will  keep  out  any  rain  or  dew.     The  tents  have  two  or  three 


GENESIS  XII.  1.  89 

divisions — for  the  cattle,  the  men,  and  the  women  :  the  outside 
compartment  for  the  more  tender  of  the  cattle ;  the  next  for  the 
men ;  and  the  third,  inner  one,  Kiibba — in  Arabic  Alkobba 
(alcove) — is  for  the  women.  The  Emirs  have  separate  tents  for 
the  cattle  and  for  the  women.  Abram  had  not  these,  it  would 
seem,  at  first  (ch.  xviii.  9),  but  afterwards  he  had  (ch.  xxiv.  G,  7). 
In  those  hot  and  dry  countries  wells  ai'e  dug  where  the  tents 
are  pitched,  which  often  are  regarded  as  property,  and  become 
objects  of  contention  (ch.  xxi.  25,  ch.  xxvi.  15).  The  tents  are 
frequently  pitched  under  large  trees  for  the  sake  of  shade.  Thus 
lived  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  But, 
though  herdsmen  themselves,  their  descendants  were  gradually 
fitted  to  lead  an  agricultural  life  in  the  Land  of  Promise.  But 
they  are  led  on  step  by  step. 

Every  notice  in  this  living  wonderful  description  of  the  life  of 
the  "  friend  of  God"  is  of  importance.  The  more  we  realise  the 
truth  of  the  existence  of  a  living  personal  God,  Who  condescends 
to  the  least  Avants  of  His  children,  so  shall  we  in  proportion 
apply  to  ourselves,  as  the  apostles  did,  the  history  of  the  lives  of 
the  patriarchs,  and,  as  it  were,  live  them  over  again. 

Their  character  is  represented  in  Scripture  with  undisguised 
truthfulness.  We  see  in  them  the  examples  of  men  who  sinned 
indeed,  but  ever  struggled  against  sin,  conquered,  and  grew  in 
holiness.  We  see  men  who  now  and  then  succumbed  under 
temptation,  but  in  the  end  overcame,  and  were  in  truth  men  of 
God. 

Ver.  1.  W'ill  sJioio  thee. — This  revelation  took  place  in  Ur, 
in  Chaldea,  according  to  ch.  xv.  7 ;  Neli.  ix.  7  (cf  Acts  vii. 
3).  His  father,  in  the  first  instance,  was  willing  to  accompany 
him ;  but  he  remained  in  Haran,  the  most  northern  and  fruitful 
part  of  Mesopotamia,  where  he  died  after  sixty  years :  cf.  ch.  xi. 
2G,  32,  ch.  xii.  4.  In  Haran,  either  the  call  was  repeated  to 
Abram,  or  he  determined  there,  as  his  father  chose  to  remain 
behind,  that  he  would  yield  full  obedience  to  God's  voice.  So 
Abram,  in  tlie  first  instance,  left  his  country,  afterwards  his 
friends  and  his  father's  house,  {.  e.,  his  family.  His  first  going 
ovit  to  Canaan  was  itself  an  act  of  fiiith ;  and  from  the  outset 
must  that  land  have  seemed  to  him,  in  the  light  of  promise,  as  a 
land  of  supernatural  blessings.  "  Leave,  He  said,  the  visible 
and  the  present,  and  choose  the  unseen  and  the  uncertain.     See 


90  GENESIS  XII.  2,  3. 

how  from  the  beginning  this  just  man  was  disciphned  to  prefer 
the  unseen  to  the  seen,  the  future  to  the  present,  since  God 
saith  not  into  what  land  He  will  cause  him  to  dwell ;  but  by  the 
indefiniteness  of  the  command  He  tries  the  patriarch's  love  of 
God."— S.  Chrysost. 

Ver.  2.  Name  gi'eat, — The  progenitor  and  his  descendants  ap- 
pear in  the  Bible  always  as  a  whole ;  therefore  it  is  said  so  fre- 
quently, "  To  thee  will  I  give  this  land." 

Bless. — "Blessing"  on  the  part  of  God  always  includes  "be- 
nefaction," since  with  Him  word  and  act  are  one  and  the  same. 
So  it  is  with  Isaac  and  Jacob  when  they  bless  in  the  name  of  God. 

Name  great, — The  name  of  Abraham  is  highly  reverenced,  not 
only  by  Jews  and  Christians,  but  by  Mohammedans  likewise. 
Wliatever  of  right  belief  in  the  living  God  is  to  be  found  in 
Islamism,  has  been  derived  from  the  religion  of  Abraham,  which 
is  inherited  by  the  Arabians. 

A  blessing. — Others  shall  be  blessed  through  thee.  This  was 
the  case  even  during  Abram's  lifetime,  but  the  following  history, 
which  explains  the  promise,  shows  how  much  further  it  extends. 

Ver.  3.  /  loill  bless. — The  expression  of  most  complete  cove- 
nant. Not  only  shall  his  friends  be  God's  friends,  and  his 
enemies  God's  enemies,  but  God  Himself  will  repay  every  kind- 
ness done  to  him,  and  will  revenge  every  injury  by  word  or 
deed. 

All  families. — This  expi'ession,  which  is  repeated  four  times 
(ch.  xviii.  18,  ch.  xxii.  18,  ch.  xxvi.  4,  ch.  xxviii.  14),  is  the  centre 
of  all  promises,  and  that  round  which  all  the  others  I'evolve.  The 
knowledge  and  the  love  of  the  one,  true,  living  God — his  covenant 
with  Him — this  was  the  unspeakably  rich  blessing  which  Abrara 
possessed,  the  source  of  all  other  benefits  which  he  enjoyed. 
Neither  Abram  nor  Moses  knew  in  what  manner  this  should 
take  place.  This  blessing  was  through  him  to  pass  to  all  people. 
The  beginning  of  the  Great  Promise  which  is  annexed  to  his 
family  declares  this  only  with  clearness — that  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  covenant  with  Him,  shall  one  day  be  the  possession  of 
all  nations  through  Abram  ;  and  he  is  therefore  chosen  by  God 
to  bring  salvation  to  all.  This  promise  has  now  been  perfectly 
fulfilled  in  Christ,  through  Whom  the  blessing  of  Abraham's 
descendants  has  been  extended  to  all  people,  and  will  continue 
to  be  extended.     From  the  commencement  was  Abram  by  this 


GENESIS  XII.  5-7.  91 

Word  of  God  raised  above  the  world  which  is  seen,  and  so  the 
eartlily  blessings  which  were  granted  to  him  gained  a  higher 
meaning.  It  is  of  moment  at  the  same  time  to  observe,  that  be- 
fore any  obedience  on  Abram's  part,  the  free  gift  by  grace  was 
accorded  him.  The  first  covenant  which  God  made  on  earth 
for  the  establishment  of  His  kingdom  was  essentially  a  covenant 
of  grace  :  Gal.  iii.  15. 

Ver.  5.  The  souls. — i.e.,  The  slaves  which  they  had  bought  in 
Haran.    Of  these  Abram  possessed  a  great  number  :  ch.  xiv.  14. 

Ver.  6.  Sichern. — In  the  middle  of  the  country  ; — a  fertile  ter- 
ritory surrounded  by  hills  of  moderate  size,  afterwards  the  capital 
of  the  Samaritans — the  modern  Nabulus.  Even  at  the  present 
day  this  is  a  pleasant  and  fruitful  region.  "  The  whole  valley  is 
full  of  vegetable  and  fruit  gardens,  with  every  variety  of  produce, 
Avatered  by  a  number  of  streams  which  rise  in  different  parts, 
and  send  their  refreshing  waters  westwards.  This  lovely  view 
came  upon  us  like  enchantment.  We  saw  nothing  to  be  com- 
pared with  it  in  the  whole  of  Palestine"  (Robinson,  iii.  315). 
In  after  times  a  sanctuary  and  memorial  were  erected  here  by 
Joshua:   Joshua  xxi v.  26. 

Ver.  G.  Plain  of  Moreli. — Literally,  the  oak  of  INIoreh.  So 
called  probably  from  the  Canaanitish  possessor  of  the  grove. 

Canaanite. — So  that  Abram,  without  possessing  so  much  of 
the  land  as  "  to  set  his  foot  on,"  was  obliged  to  wander  about  as 
a  stranger  and  herdsman.  We  are  told  (ch.  x.  15)  that  the 
Canaanites  still  had  possession  of  the  land ;  and  it  is  here  re- 
peated, to  signify  that  Abram  had  not  entered  it  in  order  to  take 
possession  of  the  same.  The  earlier  Canaanitish  people,  who 
were  chiefly  occupied  in  agriculture  and  commerce,  left  many 
steppes  for  pasture  land,  which  foreign  nomadic  tribes  were 
allowed  to  pass  through.  In  the  same  manner,  at  the  present 
day,  the  Arabian  shepherd  tribes,  Avith  their  sheik  or  emir  at 
their  head,  wander  through  the  uncultivated  parts  of  Palestine 
and  Egypt.  "  Moses  mentions  this  not  without  a  meaning  ;  but 
in  order  that  we  may  learn  the  self-control  of  the  patriarch  from 
this  circumstance,  that  ho  was  obliged  to  pass  as  a  wanderer  and 
stranger  through  the  places  possessed  by  the  Canaanites,  and  as 
a  poor  man  iind  outcast  to  dwell  there." — S.  Chiysostom. 

Ver.  7.  Give  this  land. — As  Abram  had  followed  God  in  faith, 
without  knowing  whither  he  went,  the  Lord  now  appears  to  him 


92  GENESIS  XII.  8-15. 

again,  and  adds  to  the  great  general  promise  a  still  more  definite 
one.  Tlie  extension  of  the  blessing  through  his  posterity  shall 
take  place  by  means  of  the  possession  of  this  land,  which  is  itself 
the  germ  and  type  of  a  greater,  an  eternal  possession. 

Ajjpeaved  to  him. — Here  begui  the  revelations  of  God  in  par- 
ticular places.  The  childlike  faith  of  the  patriarchs  preserved 
memorials  of  this  kind,  and  trusted  that  God  would  often  appear 
where  He  had  once  done.  They  regarded  such  places  as  a 
"House  of  God,"  eh.  xviii.  17,  and  God  graciously  condescended 
to  accept  such  faith.  He  willed  to  teach  them  above  all  things 
to  honour  none  but  the  true  living  God  who  revealed  Himself  to 
them. 

Ver.  8.  Bethel  signifies  "  House  of  God,"  as  the  place  was 
afterwards  called,  ch.  xxviii.  19  ;  about  5  miles  south  of  Sichem 
— three  hours'  journey  from  Jerusalem,  in  a  rich  pasture  valley. 
Tlie  site  has  lately  been  discovered. 

Uai. — An  ancient  town  of  the  Canaanites :   Joshua  vii.  2. 

Called. — As  ch.  iv.  26  :  i.e.,  held  a  solemn  service  to  God,  with 
liis  family  and  servants. 

Ver.  10.  Egypt. — Egypt,  which  is  enriched  by  the  regular 
overfiowings  of  the  Nile,  is  to  this  day,  as  formerly,  the  refuge  of 
the  neighbouring  countries  in  case  of  famine. 

Ver.  11.  Fair  looman. — As  the  life  of  men  in  those  days  was 
double  its  present  length,  we  must  consider  Sarai  at  70  at 
about  half  that  age.  The  conduct  of  Abram  on  this  occasion 
(as  also  wath  respect  to  Abimelech  afterwards,  ch.  xx.  12)  shows  a 
weakness  of  faith,  and  is  a  warning  to  God's  servants  at  all  times, 
that  they  may  fall  just  in  those  particulars  in  which  they  seem 
strongest.  The  want  of  strict  truthfulness  which  is  betrayed 
even  by  religious  persons  in  the  O.  T.,  is  a  proof  that,  together 
with  faith  and  the  inner  communion  Avith  God,  the  natural  man 
displayed  itself  in  gross  forms,  such  as  under  the  Gospel  cannot 
be  the  case.  Under  the  Gospel,  either  the  spirit  or  the  flesh 
gains  the  mastery,  and  the  leaven  of  grace  pervades  the  whole 
man  in  a  way  which  it  did  not  under  the  O.  T.  dispensation. 

Ver.  12.  Save  thee  alive. — Among  the  most  cultivated  de- 
scendants of  Ham — the  Egyptians  and  Canaanites  or  Phoeni- 
cians— we  find  the  highest  intellectual  culture  and  skill  in  science 
combined  with  the  lowest  moral  degradation. 

Ver.  15.  PharaoKs  house. — In  these  very  ancient  days  was 


GENESIS  XII.  lG-19;   XIII.  1-7.  93 

Egypt  already  a  higlily  civilised  country,  with  customs  such  as 
afterwards  prevailed  in  the  East,  where  kings  usually  kept  large 
harems.  The  context  shows  clearly  that  Sarai  escaped  without 
injury, — since  there  it  was  the  custom  (at  least  in  later  times  it 
was  so)  that  maidens  brought  into  the  harem  should  undergo  a 
long  course  of  preparation  (Est.  ii.  12). 

Ver.  16.  Entreated  loell. — The  king  made  him  rich  presents, 
such  as  were  suitable  to  a  nomadic  prince.  He  wished  by  the 
richness  of  his  gifts  to  offer  some  compensation  for  the  violence 
of  his  acts. 

Ver.  17.  Plagued. — The  kind  of  plagues  probably  was  of  the 
same  meaning  as  those  narrated  ch.  xx.  17,  18.  The  king  and 
his  priests  and  soothsayers  understood  by  them  what  God  would 
have  them  learn  from  them. 

Ver.  19.  To  loife, — ^Ve  are  not  to  conclude  therefrom  that 
Abram's  suspicion  was  wrong ;  at  the  same  time,  there  lies  in 
this  reproach  that  which  Abram  was  unable  to  reply  to. 


CHAPTER  XIH. 

A  further  step  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  Divine  promise.  The 
land  w^as  to  belong  to  Abram  and  his  seed,  and  yet  Lot,  rich  and 
powerful,  is  still  in  it.  A  contention  between  the  herdsmen  of 
the  two  relatives  is  the  cause  of  separation.  Abram  behaves  in 
the  most  unselfish  way.  On  the  separation,  the  promise  of  posses- 
sion is  repeated  in  a  still  more  distinct  manner. 

Ver.  1.  South;  i.e.,  to  the  southern  region  of  Palestine. 

Ver.  2.  Vert/  rich. — The  commencement  of  the  fulfilment  of 
the  promise,  ch.  xii.  2.  Outward  blessing  was  to  faithful  Abraham 
a  pledge  of  the  spiritual,  unseen  blessing. 

Ver.  4.   Called  on  the  name. — See  ch.  iv.  26. 

Ver.  5.  Ihits. — After  the  manner  of  the  present  Arabian 
nomadic  tribes. 

Ver.  6.  Not  dwell  together. — They  could  not  find  pasture 
enough  on  the  open  free  steppes. 

Ver.  7.  Ferizzite. — The  Perizzites  arc  not  mentioned  in  ch. 
X.  15-19  among  the  children  of  Canaan.  The  word  properly 
means  "  dwellers  from  Phercesoth  " — i.e.,  dwellers  on  farms  in  the 


94  GENESIS  XIII.  9-18. 

country,  in  opposition  to  the  inhabitants  of  towns.  The  land 
could  not  bear  them  both,  because  all  the  country  was  thickly 
covered  with  towns  and  villages. 

Ver.  9.  To  the  left. — Even  here,  it  seems,  is  an  act  of  faith  on 
the  part  of  Abram  recorded.  From  his  love  of  peace  he  allows 
Lot  his  choice,  yet  was  he  sure  in  his  heart  that  God  would  so 
order  it  that  His  promise  should  be  fulfilled.  Lot  therefore  was 
quite  free  to  choose.  Nothing  obliged  him  to  depart  from 
Canaan ;  but  in  all  this  was  the  purpose  of  God  brought  about. 
The  humility  and  forbearance  of  Abram  are  herein  shown,  that, 
though  Lot's  father's  brother,  he  calls  him  "brother,"  and,  though 
the  elder,  leaves  him  the  first  choice. 

Ver.  10.  Plain  of  Jordan. — Heb. :  "  The  whole  circuit  of 
Jordan."  So  was  this  wonderfully  fruitful  valley  called,  in  the 
place  of  which  afterwards  arose  the  Dead  Sea.  The  Jordan  ap- 
pears in  this  valley  to  have  been  divided  into  several  arms,  and 
the  main  stream  to  have  been  lost  in  a  subterranean  cavity ; 
since,  according  to  recent  researches,  it  seems  impossible,  on  ac- 
count of  the  depth  of  its  channel  in  the  upper  part,  that  it  could 
have  flowed  through  the  valley  which  stretches  from  thence  as 
far  as  the  Gulf  of  Akaba. 

Garden  of  the  Lord;  i.e.,  like  Eden. 

Ugi/2)t. — Which  was  then,  by  nature  and  cultivation,  one  of  the 
richest  countries  of  the  old  world. 

Ver.  15.  For  ever. — All  that  God  does  is  eternal.  He  never 
gives  or  accomplishes  that  which  is  perishable ;  since  even  the 
transitory  things  which  we  receive  from  Him,  He  bestows  with 
reference  to  the  eternal,  and  if  a  man  receives  them  in  faith  they 
bear  everlasting  fruit.  The  land  of  Canaan  is  the  pledge  and 
type  of  the  new  world,  which  the  faithful,  who  are  the  children 
of  Abram,  shall  receive  for  an  everlasting  possession  ;  and  there- 
fore did  his  seed  after  the  flesh  possess  it,  in  order  to  make  ready 
for  the  kingdom  of  God  on  the  whole  earth  :    cf.  Rom.  iv.  13. 

Ver.  17.  Give  it  thee. — He  was  in  figure  to  take  possession  of 
it.     In  his  lifetime  he  had  not  so  much  as  where  to  put  his  foot. 

Ver.  18.  Plains.— ^'^  Under  the  Oak  of  Mamre." 

Hebron  signifies  "  covenant."  It  is  the  after-name  of  the 
place  which  is  here  given  by  anticipation.  It  was  called  in 
earlier  times  "Kirjath-Arba" — afterwards  Anakim  Arba;  after- 
wards the  royal  city  of  David  before  he  conquered  Jerusalem. 


GENESIS  XIV.  1-7.  95 


CHAPTER   XIY. 

Ver.  1.  Shinar. — Babylon:  cf.  cli.  x.  10,  cli.  xi.  2. 

Ellasar. — An  unknown  country,  probably  towards  Assyria. 

Elam. — Cf.  ch.  x.  22,  note. 

Nations,  heathen  (Gojim),  is  in  the  O.  T.  the  name  of  all 
who  are  not  Israelites.  Perhaps  here  it  is  the  desitrnation  of 
people  of  somewhat  distant  northern  regions.  So  Joshua  xii.  23, 
"  The  nations  of  Gilgal." 

Ver.  2.  Zoar. — Each  of  the  more  important  Canaanitish 
towns  had,  as  the  book  of  Joshua  shows,  its  king.  We  find 
something  like  this  in  the  earlier  Greek  times.  The  Canaanites 
of  the  rich  valley  Siddim,  in  spite  of  their  inferior  power,  trusted 
so  much  to  their  own  strength,  that  they  set  themselves  against 
the  combined  forces  of  the  important  countries  of  the  east. 

Ver.  3.  Salt  Sea. — After  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrha. 

Ver.  6.  Elparan. — Heb.,  "  To  the  turpentine  trees  (oak,  Engl. 
Vers.)  of  Paran" — to  an  oasis  in  the  steppe-land,  fertile  in  oaks, 
or  the  turpentine — terebinthus. 

Ver.  7.  Hazezon-tamar. — The  march  of  the  kings  was  from 
the  north,  through  the  land  to  the  east  of  Jordan.  Here  we 
first  meet  in  with  "  Rephaims,"  or  giants,  a  Canaanitish  people 
of  vast  size,  who  often  are  mentioned  in  the  O.  T.  Their  chief 
town,  "  Ashteroth  Karnaim,"  means,  Astarte  with  two  horns, 
because  the  Canaanitish  goddess  Astarte,  who  is  represented 
with  two  horns,  was  especially  worshipped  there.  From  thence 
they  went  southwards.  The  Zuzims  and  the  Emims,  in  the 
plain  of  Kiriathaim  {i.e.,  the  double  town),  were  the  original 
inliabitants  of  the  territory  afterwards  possessed  by  the  Ammon- 
ites and  ISIoabites.  The  Horites  (dwellers  in  caves)  were  the 
old  inhabitants  of  the  mountainous  district  of  Seir,  whom  the 
Edomites  afterwards  drove  out :  Deut.  ii.  12.  Pharan  is  the 
mountainous  country,  in  the  south  of  Palestine,  belonging  to 
Edom  and  Arabia  Petrtca.  The  stream  INIispat,  or  "  of  the 
right,"  is  Kadesh,  on  the  south  border  of  Palestine.  The  Ama- 
lekites  are  the  ancient  (probably  Arabian)  people  who  lived 
between  Edom  and  Egypt  in  Arabia  Petrtea.     Hazezon-tamar 


96  GENESIS  XIV.  10-14. 

lay  in  the  southern  part  of  Palestine,  in  that  part  which  was 
afterwards  the  Desert  of  Judaea.  The  kings,  therefore,  coming 
east  from  Jordan,  had  encompassed  tlie  Valley  of  Siddim,  and 
conqnered  all  before  them.  They  now  turn  from  the  south-west 
towards  the  main  point  of  their  expedition. 

Ver.  10.  Slime-pits. — As})halt,  a  bitumen  of  a  dark  colour, 
which  melts  easily  in  a  moderate  heat.  The  whole  valley  was 
full  of  such  pits  or  gulleys,  out  of  which  the  bitumen  flowed.  At 
the  present  day  there  arises  out  of  the  Dead  Sea,  to  the  surface, 
bitumen,  which  becomes  hardened  by  salt  and  the  sun,  and  floats 
in  thick  masses  on  the  water.  Also  in  Mesopotamia  such  streams 
of  bitumen  are  found,  and  likewise  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Baku,  on  the  Casjjian  Sea,  which  it  is  not  safe  to  approach  very 
close  to,  lest  the  soil  should  give  way  under  one's  feet.  On  the 
borders  of  the  Dead  Sea  are  there  still  some  such  sluices  in 
which  bitumen  is  found. 

There — viz.,  into  the  slime  or  bitumen  pits,  by  which  means 
the  defeat  was  complete. 

Ver.  12.  Sodom. — We  are  not  to  suppose  that  a  regular  war 
of  conquest  is  here  described,  but  a  kind  of  predatory  foray, 
such  as  were  the  wars  of  the  Greeks  in  very  old  times.  The 
object  of  such  was  to  capture  as  much  booty  as  possible — cattle, 
men,  etc. — to  make  the  slaves  of  the  latter,  partly  in  revenge  for 
past  oftences,  pai^tly  as  tribute  for  time  to  come. 

Ver.  13.  Hehreio. — In  old  times  persons  were  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  their  ancestor,  and  therefore  Abram  is  known 
amoup;  the  Canaanites  as  the  descendant  of  Eber.  Afterwards 
this  name  gave  way  to  that  of  the  "  sons "  or  "  children "  of 
Israel,  or  Israelites ;  and  in  the  O.  T.  the  name  "  Hebrew"  only 
occurs  in  the  mouth  of  foreigners,  or  in  discourse  with  them ; 
and  since  the  whole  of  Israel  was  regarded  by  themselves  as  "  a 
holy  nation,"  the  name  Israel  took  the  significance  of  holy — 
Hebrew,  that  of  profane.  So  in  the  N.  T.,  and  at  the  present 
day,  the  name  "  Israel,"  "  Israelites,"  is  the  name  by  which  they 
are  designated  among  themselves — "  Hebrew,"  the  profane 
name,  in  use  in  their  intercourse  with  aliens. 

Aner. — These  three  chieftains  strengthened  the  force  of 
Abram. 

Ver.  14.  Dan. — This  is  not  the  town  which  was  in  earlier 
times  Laish  or  Leshem,  and  which  in  the  time  of  the  Judoes 


GENESIS  XIY.  15-20.  97 

was  taken  by  the  tribe  of  Dan,  and  changed  its  name  for  tliat 
of  their  progenitor  (Joshua  xix.  47  ;  Judges  xviii.  29)  ;  but  an- 
other place,  Dan-jaan,  mentioned  2  Sam.  xxiy.  6. 

Ver.  15.  Damascus. — Abraham  here  altogether  acts  the  part 
of  an  independent  nomad  chief,  after  the  manner  of  the  modern 
Arabian  sheiks  :  these  have  always  under  them  a  great  number 
of  free  adherents,  slaves,  and  clansmen.  All  these  are  regularly 
])ractised  in  the  use  of  arms  for  cases  of  necessity.  Abram's 
slaves  were  partly  bought,  partly  born  in  his  house  :  these  latter 
held  the  higher  position,  as  the  more  attached  and  trustworthy. 
Abram  pursued  the  host  of  the  kings  as  they  retired  in  disorder, 
flushed  with  their  victory,  and  was  enabled  with  his  much  infe- 
rior forces  to  gain  an  entire  victory  over  them,  by  means  of  his 
superior  knowledge  of  the  mountainous  country — still  more  by 
his  firm,  courageous  faith  in  God. 

Ver.  18.  Melchizedek. — Heb.  Malki-zedek — L  e.,  the  king  of 
righteousness ;  probably  a  standing  title,  as  Abimelech,  Adoni- 
zedek. 

Salem. — Salem  is  called  Jerusalem,  Ps.  Ixxvi.  3;  and  there- 
fore we  may  suppose  that  afterwards  famous  city  to  be  meant. 
Otherwise  there  lay  a  Salem  north  on  the  Jordan,  which  a  tra- 
dition of  Chi-istian  times  has  handed  done  as  the  city  of 
Melchizedek. 

Bread  and  loine. — "  Not  that  he  offered  a  sacrifice,  but  re- 
freshed and  honoured  the  guests  with  food  ;  thereby  representing 
Christ,  who  feeds  the  world  with  His  Gospel." — (Luther.) 

Ver.  20.  Tithes. — Even  among  the  idolatrous  nations  the 
worship  of  the  one  true  God  still  survived.  Melchizedek  calls 
Him  "  the  Most  High  God,"  or  the  "  Exalted,"  i.  e.,  Who  stands 
far  above  creation  ;  as  Jehovah  also  is  often  called  God  "  who 
made  heaven  and  earth" — in  opposition  to  the  gods  of  nature 
among  the  heathen,  who  were  in,  not  above,  the  world.  But 
Melchizedek  does  not  call  Him  "the  Lord"  (Jehovah),  which 
name  Abram  alone  could  use  of  Him  as  the  God  of  the  covenant. 
Yet  Abraham  gives  to  Jehovah  the  same  name  as  Melchizedek 
to  God  (ver.  22),  showing  thereby  their  communion  of  belief 
Through  his  priestly  office,  bestowed  on  him  b}'  God,  is  Melchi- 
zedek's  blessing  of  avail  (as  likewise  Balaam's,  Num.  xxiii.  24, 
who  calls  on  God,  not  the  Lord  Jehovah,  and  speaks  only  in  His 
name)  ;  and  for  this  cause  Abram  gives  him  the  tithe  of  the  spoil. 

G 


93  GENESIS  XIV.  21-24. 

The  number  ten  expresses  perfection — the  abstract  idea  of 
totality  :  when  the  tithe  of  all  that  was  acquired  had  been  dedi- 
cated to  God,  then. is  the  possession  of  the  remainder  sanctified. 
We  here  see  a  priest  who  derived  his  office  from  no  earthly 
descent, — who,  moreover,  did  not  belong  to  the  temporal,  outward 
family  of  the  old  covenant,  still  acknowledged  by  Abram  as  his 
priest.  Throughout  the  whole  history  of  revelation — even  to 
those  who  were  brought  most  close  to  Him  and  were  His  friends 
— does  God  show  that  His  gifts  are  bestowed  of  free  grace 
alone,  not  according  to  any  advantages  one  man  has  over  an- 
other, and  that  even  beyond  His  own  ordinances  His  free  will 
extends ;  and  by  thus  overpassing  their  boundaries,  He  gives  us 
a  glimpse  of  the  laws  of  a  still  higher  dispensation.  Therefore 
in  this  priest-king  is  typified  the  eternal.  Divine  Priesthood, 
without  dependence,  or  descent,  or  outward  appointment,  which  is 
fulfilled  in  Christ ;  and  thus  is  explained  the  remarkable  pheno- 
menon that  Abram,  to  whom  w^ere  vouchsafed  revelations  from 
the  Most  High  God,  who  was  the  first  of  an  entirely  new  family 
of  God  on  earth,  who  built  altars  to  the  God  who  appeared  to 
him,  and  oifered  sacrifices  and  solemn  service,  yet  bows  himself 
here  before  a  priest  who  did  not  belong  to  the  covenant  of 
grace. 

Ver.  21.  Thyself — in  the  belief  Abram  would  retain  the 
whole. 

Ver.  22.  Most  High  God. — Him  upon  whom  the  king  of 
Salem,  thy  kinsman,  has  called. 

Ver.  23.  Abram  rich. — Abram  keeps  himself  free  from  all 
obligations  to  those  who  are  not  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  relying 
entirely  on  God's  promise; — a  pattern  for  those  who  are  made 
partakers  of  Christ :  cf.  Rom.  xiii.  8 ;  1  Thess.  iv.  12 ;  2  Cor. 
vi.  14,  15. 

Ver.  24.  Portion. — Abram  acted  with  complete  unselfish- 
ness for  himself,  who  was  rich  by  reason  of  this  covenant  with 
God,  but  took  care  of  the  interests  of  his  allies,  who  were 
strangers  to  the  motives  which  actuated  himself. 


GENESIS  XV.  1-6.  99 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Ver.  1.  Vision. — Probably  in  a  trance,  about  even-time,  when 
the  lower  faculties  of  the  soul  were  asleep  and  subdued,  and  the 
man  has  his  powers  fitted  for  the  reception  of  communication 
from  on  high.  In  this  condition  of  ecstasy  Abram  remained 
until  he  received  the  Divine  command  (ver.  9),  and  then  he 
falls  back  (ver.  12)  into  the  wonderful  sleep. 

Great  reward. —  God  Himself.  His  covenanted  communion  is 
Abram's  exceeding  great  reward.  There  can  be  no  higher  re- 
ward of  the  love  of  God  than  the  love  of  God  :  of.  Ps.  cxlii.  6  ; 
St  Matt.  V.  12. 

Ver.  2.  Lord  God. — "  Jehovah  Lord,"  which  is  always  the 
Hebrew  expression  in  the  O.  T.  when  the  double  name  of  the 
Deity  occurs. 

Eliezer. — Probably  the  meaning  is — "  I  go  childless,  and  the 
son  of  the  possession  of  my  house  {i.  e.,  my  heir)  is  this  Eliezer 
of  Damascus."  Abram  justly  thought,  as  he  had  separated  first 
from  his  father's  house  and  kindred,  and  afterwards  from  Lot, 
and  since  God  has  given  him  the  promise  of  the  possession  of 
Canaan,  it  could  not  be  the  purpose  of  the  Lord  that  his  inheri- 
tance, and  the  blessing  resting  on  it,  should  devolve  on  his  dis- 
tant connections,  but  that  he  should  choose  his  principal  servant 
in  the  stead  of  a  son. 

Ver.  5.  Brought  him  forth  ;  i.  e.,  in  vision. 

Ver.  6.  For  righteousness. — Without  having  the  least  grounds 
of  human  probability,  he  trusts,  unconditionally,  the  Divine  pro- 
mise of  grace.  The  word  '^  believed"  means  properly,  in  the 
Heb.,  "  he  held  himself  fast  to  the  Lord."  This  belief  in  God, 
which  gives  up  itself  entirely  to  Him,  which  strengthens  itself 
in  Him,  God  regards  in  Abram  as  righteousness — as  a  virtue 
acceptable  in  Ilis  sight,  because  such  a  belief  in  the  revelation  of 
the  Divine  grace  unites  man  altogether  with  God,  the  source  of 
all  good,  and  so  leads  him  on  from  step  to  step.  Faith  alto- 
gether renounces  the  natural  ground  of  trust  in  oneself,  in  one's 
own  sin-defiled  obedience,  and  throws  itself  into  the  arms  of  re- 
Aealcd  grace.      Therefore  can  God  count  this  faith,  and  this 


100  GENESIS  XY.  8-13. 

alone,  for  righteousness.  This  faith  is  therefore  substantially 
and  really  one  with  justifying  faith  in  Christ's  atonement,  which 
is  the  end  of  all  God's  revelations.  Also  subjectively,  as  tlie 
direction  of  man's  heart,  is  it  one  and  the  same,  since  it  draws 
away  man  fi'om  trust  in  the  seen  and  human,  and  knits  him 
altogether  to  the  Divine  promise  :  cf.  Rom.  iv.  3,  18,  23  ;  St 
James  ii.  23, 

Ver.  8.  Whereby  shall  I  knoiv  ? — That  Abram  seeks  a  sign 
here,  is  not  displeasing  to  God,  more  than  in  the  case  of  Gideon 
and  Hezekiah  (Judges  vi.  36  ;  2  Kings  xx.  8).  Nay,  the 
contrary  may  be  displeasing  to  Him,  as  we  find  in  the  instance 
of  Ahaz:  Isa.  vii.  12.  It  altogether  depends  on  the  mind 
which  prompts  the  request  or  refusal,  whether  the  request  is 
prompted  by  belief,  which  desires  confirmation,  or  by  unbelief, 
which  is  concealed  under  the  pretence  of  the  uncertainty  of  the 
revelation. 

Ver.  9.  He  said. — Hereon  follow  customs  which  were  prac- 
tised in  the  case  of  a  covenant  between  man  and  man.  The 
victims  were  cut  in  twain,  and  the  persons  who  made  the  cove- 
nant passed  between  the  divided  pieces,  and  uttered  the  impre- 
cation that  they  might  in  like  manner  be  hewn  asunder  if  they 
broke  the  covenant:  Jer.  xxxiv.  18,  19,  cf  1  Sam.  xi.  7. 

Three  years  old. — Animals  of  three  years  of  age  were  consi- 
dered in  their  prime.    In  the  offerings  there  must  be  no  blemish. 

Ver.  10.  Divided  not — As  was  afterwards  the  custom  under  the 
Levitical  law,  Lev.  i.  15,  17  :  here,  possibly,  because  they  were 
not  the  proper  sacrifice  of  the  covenant,  but  one  over  and  be- 
side it. 

Ver  11.  D?we  them  aivay. — Luther's  gloss:  "The  birds 
signify  the  Egyptians,  who  first  persecute  Abram's  descend- 
ants ;  but  Abram  drives  them  away, — that  is,  God  redeems  them 
for  His  promise  made  to  Abram.  This  is  the  case  also  with  all 
believers,  that  they  are  forsaken  and  yet  redeemed." 

Ver.  12.  Sun. — This  statement  of  the  time  is  meant  to  signify 
the  supernatural  character  of  the  darkness  and  of  the  sleep,  and 
to  denote  the  difference  between  a  dream  and  a  vision. 

A  horror. — A  prophetic  sleep,  full  of  dread  before  the  majesty 
of  the  approach  of  God. 

Ver.  13.  Four  hundred  years,  in  round  numbers.  The  time 
was  actually  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  :  cf.  Exod.  xii.  40. 


GENESIS  XV.  14-17.  101 

Ver.  14.  With  great  substance. — Together  with  the  revelation 
of  grace  and  mercy  is  the  prospect  of  the  many  afflictions  to 
come  laid  open,  yet  with  the  promise  they  shall  terminate  in 
trinmph  and  joy.  This  prediction  of  certain  circumstances  is  a 
sign  of  grace,  ver.  17.  The  "great  substance"  is  the  spoiling  of 
the  Egyptians  by  the  gifts  which  they  made  to  the  Israelites, 
Exod.  xi.  2. 

Ver.  15.  Peace. — Thou  shaltgo  to  thy  fathers  or  to  thy  people 
in  peace,  is  the  gracious  expression  for  a  life  after  death.  The 
same  occurs  especially  in  these  very  early  times  often  (ch.  xxv.  8, 
ch.  XXXV.  29,  ch.  xlix.  29,  33 ;  Dent,  xxxii.  50  ;  2  Kings  xxii.  20j. 
We  here  see  that  even  in  the  farthest  antiquity  the  view  into  the 
life  beyond  the  grave  was  not  altogether  dark  and  gloomy. 

Buried. — Burying  was  the  most  ancient,  and  with  few  excep- 
tions the  usual,  mode  with  the  Israelites  in  respect  to  their  dead. 
It  was  founded  on  the  expression,  Gen.  iii.  19.  This  custom 
was  more  calculated  to  remind  persons  of  this  declaration, 
as  well  as  (afterwards)  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  than  the 
heathen  custom  of  embalming  and  burning  the  dead.  Thus  was 
Moses  buried  by  God  (Deut.  xxxiv.  6)  ;  and  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  also  was  interred. 

Ver.  16.  Full. — Here  is  Abram  expressly  told  that,  personally, 
he  shall  have  no  part  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  promised  blessing, 
and  that  he  will  partake  of  it  only  in  his  descendants.  The 
Amorites,  who  are  here  mentioned  as  being  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  Canaanitish  nations,  are  still  an  object  of  the  Divine 
mercy:  their  measure  must  be  first  full, — the  day  of  grace  must 
have  passed,  before  God  punishes, 

Ver.  17.  Pieces. — By  the  furnace  we  are  to  picture  to  our- 
selves a  large  cylindrical-shaped  fire-pot,  wide  within  in  the 
lower  part,  small  in  the  upper,  with  the  outlet  at  the  top,  like 
those  now  to  be  found  in  the  chambers  and  tents  in  the  East. 
Such  a  glowing,  smoking  pillar,  out  of  which  a  flame  of  fire 
broke,  moved  betwixt  the  pieces.  In  this  God  appeared  to  Abram, 
as  afterwards  to  the  Israelites,  on  their  march  to  Canaan,  in  the 
cloudy  pillar  and  in  the  fire.  Here  was  represented  the  fearful 
and  (to  sinners)  the  intolerable  majesty  of  God,  veiled  and 
softened  to  the  eye  by  the  cloud  of  smoke,  the  emblem  of  recon- 
ciling grace  (Lev.  xvi.  12,  13).  The  reason  why  God  alone 
passes  through,  and  not  Abraham,  is  because  this  covenant  was 


102  GENESIS  XV.  18-21. 

one  of  grace,  and  God  before  all  gives  His  grace  ere  He  requires 
anything  on  man's  part.  Its  aim  was  to  strengthen  Abram  in 
his  sure  trust  that  God  would  fulfil  what  He  had  promised, 

Ver.  18.  Abram;  i.e.,  what  is  here  narrated  was  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  covenant  in  which  God  had  promised  to  Abram. 

Euphrates. — The  river  of  Egypt  is  the  Nile,  whose  arms,  by 
means  of  canals,  stretch  to  the  eastern  extremity  of  Egypt.  In 
ancient  days  Asia  reached  to  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  In  these 
words  the  bounds  of  the  Promised  Land  are  only  given  in  unde- 
fined and  general  terms,  as  the  length  of  the  Egyptian  captivity 
in  round  numbers,  four  hundred.  At  times  the  Israelites  literally 
possessed  the  whole  territory  from  the  Nile  to  the  Euphrates,  as 
the  tribe  Reuben,  in  the  south-east  of  Jordan,  had  the  pasture 
lands  in  the  wilderness  as  far  as  Euphrates,  and  carried  on  wars 
with  the  Arabians  on  the  Persian  Gulf  (1  Chron.  vi.  9,  10) ;  and 
also,  on  the  north,  the  kingdom  of  David  and  Solomon  extended 
to  the  Euphrates,  on  the  south  to  the  Red  Sea  (2  Sam.  viii.  3 ; 
1  Kings  iv.  21,  24 ;  2  Chron.  viii.  17).  In  this  prophecy  the 
boundaries  of  the  Promised  Land  are  extended  as  far  as  they 
would  have  been,  in  the  case  that  Israel  had  continued  faithful 
to  the  Lord  :  the  same  holds  good  of  the  glowing,  brilliant  de- 
scriptions of  the  fruitfulness  of  Canaan. 

Ver.  19.  Kenites. — Afterwards  driven  to  the  south  of  Arabia. 
— The  Kenizzites  are  unknown. — The  Cadmonites  signify  the 
inhabitants  of  the  east  countries.  The  name  does  not  occur 
again.     The  people  are  unknown. 

Ver.  20.  The  Hittites. — In  the  middle  of  Palestine,  about 
Hebron  (ch.  xxiii.)  and  Bethel  (Judges  i.  23,  2^).  Even  to  a 
late  period  they  remained,  dwelling  among  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  21.  The  Amorites. — The  principal  nation  of  the  Canaan- 
ites  in  Palestine,  dwelling  on  both  sides  of  the  Jordan. 

The  Canaanites. — One  particular  tribe  bore  the  name  of  the 
people  in  general. 

The  Girgashites — mentioned  Joshua  xxiv.  11 ;  else  unknown. 

The  Jehusites  dwelt  in  and  about  Jerusalem,  in  the  mountain- 
ous district.  Joshua  overcame  them  (Joshua  xi.).  Neverthe- 
less their  chief  town,  Jebus,  afterwards  Jerusalem,  was  not  taken 
before  David's  time. 


GENESIS  XVI.  2-7.  10c 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Ver.  2.  Obtain  :  lit.  "be  bulldedby  her."  A  family  is  called 
a  house,  and  so  to  beget  children,  to  build.  On  such  a  connec- 
tion as  this,  see  ch.  xxii.  24.  A  warning  against  it  is  given 
Prov.  XXX.  23.  By  the  results  of  this  and  other  cases  of  poly- 
gamy in  the  O.  T.,  God  warns  by  deeds  against  it,  though  by 
reason  of  their  "  hardness  of  heart"  He  allows  the  state. 

Ver.  4.  Despised. — Since  barrenness  was  regarded  as  a  curse, 
abundance  of  children  as  a  rich  blessing. 

Ver.  5.  My  wrong. — She  rashly  and  impatiently  blames 
Abram,  because  he  did  not  inflict  punishment  on  Hagar. 

Ver.  7.  Angels. — Throughout  the  whole  of  O.  T.  there  runs 
the  distinction  between  the  hidden  God  and  the  Revealer  of  God, 
Himself  equal  with  God,  who  most  frequently  is  called  "  the 
Messenger,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord,"  "  Malachi- Jehovah,"— one 
with  Plim,  and  yet  distinct  from  Him.  This  Messenger  of  the 
Lord  is  the  Guide  of  the  patriarchs  (cf.  ch.  xlviii.  16) ;  the 
Caller  of  Moses  (Exod.  iii.  2,  etc.) ;  the  Leader  of  the  people 
through  the  wilderness  (Exod.  xiv.  19,  ch.  xxiii.  20  ;  cf.  ch. 
xxxiii.  14,  Isa.  Ixiii.  9)  ;  the  Champion  of  the  Israelites  in 
Canaan  (Joshua  v.  13)  ;  and  also,  yet  further,  the  Guide  and 
Ruler  of  the  people  of  the  covenant  (Judges  ii.  1,  ch.  vi.  11, 
ch.  xiii.  3) ;  or,  as  He  is  called,  Isa.  Ixiii.  9,  "  the  Angel  of  His 
Presence  ;"  by  Daniel  "  Michael"  (^),  and  He  deputes  Gabriel  to 
the  prophet  (Dan.  x.  13,  etc.) ;  in  Zechariah  He  measures  the 
new  building  of  Jerusalem,  and  sends  the  angel  to  the  prophet, 
who  speaks  with  him  (see  Zech.  ch.  i.  and  ii.) ;  by  Malachi,  as 
the  Messenger  of  the  Covenant,  greatly  longed  for  by  the  people, 
whose  return  to  His  temple  is  promised  (Mai.  iii.  1).  It  no- 
where occurs  in  the  O.  T.,  that  an  angel  speaks  as  if  he  were 
God  (since  in  Daniel,  Gabriel,  and  in  Zechariah,  the  angel 
who  talks  with  the  prophet,  clearly  distinguish  themselves  from 
Jehovah)  ;  while  this  Angel  of  the  Lord,  in  the  passage  under 
consideration,  and  often  elsewhere  in  the  O.  T.,  speaks  as  Jeho- 
vah, and  His  appearing  is  regarded  as  that  of  the  Most  High 
God  Himself  Nay,  God  says  expressly  of  this  Angel,  "  My 
name— i.e.,  My  revealed  Being — is  in  Him."     His  name  "  Mes- 


104  GENESIS  XVI.  10,  12. 

senger,"  or  "Angel,"  is  to  be  taken  in  a  general  signification, 
and  by  no  means  as  if  it  denoted  a  class  of  higher  created 
beings,  of  angels,  which  He  had  taken  (cf.  Heb.  ii.  16).  In  the 
N.  T.  the  expressions,  "  The  Word,"  "  Son,"  "  Express  Image," 
"  Brightness,"  betoken  the  same,  viz.,  the  countenance  turned  to 
man,  the  Revealer  of  the  Invisible  God.  The  expressions  which 
our  Lord  frequently  uses,  "  He  who  hath  sent  Me,"  "  I  am  sent 
from  the  Father,"  particularly  refer  to  this  name  (St  Matt.  x. 
40  ;  St  Lukex.  16 ;  St  John  v.  23),  as  Heb.  iii.  1,  He  is  called 
"  the  Apostle"  of  our  profession.  The  future  appearance  on 
earth  of  the  God-man  is  gradually  prepared  in  the  O.  T.  in  two 
ways :  on  the  one  hand,  there  is  promised  a  mighty  and  glorious 
Human  Ruler  over  all  (in  later  times  called  "Messiah," — the 
Anointed  of  the  Lord),  to  whom,  at  the  same  time,  in  His  human 
nature,  Divine  names,  attributes,  and  works  are  ascribed  (so  ch. 
xlix.  10  ;  Ps.  ii.  and  ex. ;  Isa.  ix.  5  ;  Micah  v.  1)  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  the  personal  distinction  in  the  Godhead,  the  Revealer  of 
the  Invisible  God  as  a  separate  person,  is  more  and  more  clearly 
made  known.  Therefore  it  was  that  John  Baptist,  our  Lord's 
forerunner,  recognised  in  Christ  the  Eternal  One  who  was  come 
down  from  heaven,  and  was  over  all :  St  John  i.  15,  ch.  iii.  31. 

Shui\ — Probably  the  town  called  by  the  Greeks  Pelusium, 
to  the  north-east  of  Egypt.     She  fled  back  to  her  native  land. 

Ver.  10.  Numbered. — Outwardly  a  blessing  as  great  as  that 
which  was  promised  to  Abram  (Gen.  xv.  5) ;  and  even  in  the 
weaker  reflection  in  Hagar's  posterity  may  the  greatness  of  the 
promise  of  blessing  to  the  father  of  the  faithful  be  recognised. 
"  Arabia,  the  population  of  which  for  the  most  part  consists  of 
the  descendants  of  Ishmael,  is  an  abundant  source  of  the  human 
family,  from  whence  have  issued,  for  thousands  of  years,  streams 
far  and  wide  towards  the  east  and  west.  Before  the  time  of 
Mahomet,  Ishmael's  posterity  existed  in  the  whole  of  Asia 
Minor — in  the  middle  ages,  in  East  India ;  in  the  whole  of  North 
Africa  has  it  been  the  cradle  of  all  the  wandering  tribes. 
Through  the  whole  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  as  far  as  the  Moluccas, 
had  they,  so  early  as  the  middle  ages,  settlements  ;  likewise  on 
the  coast  of  Mozambique,  as  their  navigation  passed  over  Lower 
India  to  China.  In  Europe  they  peopled  South  Spain,  and 
were  masters  of  it  for  700  years." — (Ritter.) 

Ver.    12.    Wild  man. — Literally,    "  he   shall   be   a   wild  ass 


GENESIS  XVI.  13.  105 

of  man," — a  remarkable  and  peculiarly  significant  prophecy. 
The  wild  ass  (Onager) — Hebrew,  "Pere,"  i.e.  a  runner — is  a 
beautiful  animal,  with  longer  legs  than  the  tame  ass,  a  dark 
flowing  mane,  a  projecting  forehead,  long  outstretched  ears, 
silver-coloured  hair,  and  a  thick  stripe  of  brown  down  the  back, 
intersected  by  a  similar  one  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  It  is  a  swift, 
shy  animal,  which  lives  in  the  desert,  and  is  only  with  great 
difficulty  taken  or  tamed  :  see  the  description,  Job  xxxix.  5-8. 
The  prophet  describes  the  wilderness  as  "  a  joy  of  asses"  (Isa. 
xxxii.  14).  The  description  thoroughly  depicts  the  intense  love 
of  freedom  of  the  Bedouin  Arabs ;  their  unshackled  roaming 
about  in  the  wilderness  ;  their  contempt  of  every  kind  of  regular, 
and  especially  city  hfe ;  and  their  determined  independence. 
Only  certain  parts  of  their  country  have  ever  yet  been  subdued  ; 
and  the  conquerors  have  always  been  obliged  to  solicit  afresh 
the  friendship  of  a  people  whom  it  was  dangerous  to  provoke, 
and  utterly  unprofitable  to  conquer.  "  They  live^under  the  open 
heaven  (says  Diodorus,  19,  94),  and  call  the  uninhabited,  water- 
less desert  their  native  country.  A  law  forbids  them  to  sow 
corn,  to  plant  fruit-trees,  to  drink  wine,  and  to  build  houses. 
Any  one  of  them  who  breaks  the  law  is  punished  with  death. 
The  reason  of  this  law  is  the  notion,  that  all  who  have  posses- 
sions of  the  kind  named,  may  be  brought  into  subjection  by 
people  more  powerful  than  themselves,  and  made  to  obey  their 
commands." 

Brethren. — Even  to  this  day  the  greater  part  of  the  Arabs  lead 
a  robber  life.  They  justify  themselves  by  referring  to  the  hard 
treatment  experienced  by  their  forefather  Ishmael,  who  was 
driven  from  his  father's  house,  and  received  the  wilderness  as 
his  inheritance,  with  the  permission  to  take  what  he  could  find. 
"  Against  his  brethren — in  their  presence  :"  he  will  dwell  oppo- 
site to  them,  i.e.,  towards  the  east,  as,  in  the  description  of  a 
situation,  one  would  turn  the  face  thither.  Therefore,  in  Arabia, 
the  name  "  Jemen"  stands  for  the  south,  the  land  to  the  right; 
and  "  Scham"  for  Syria,  the  land  to  the  left.  Of  all  the  de- 
scendants of  Abraham,  the  Ishmaelites  have  taken  up  their 
dwelling  most  to  the  east. 

Ver.  13.  Seest  me. — "  Thou  (art)  the  God  of  seeing,"  i.e.,  the 
God  who  revealest  Thyself.  Thou  art  not  hidden,  but  hast 
made  Thyself  known. 


106  GENESIS  XVI.  14. 

Seeth  me. — Heb. :  "  Also  see  I  here  after  the  seeing;"  i.e.,  "Also 
here  even,  where  I  have  seen  God,  do  I  still  behold  (the  light)  : 
I  still  live  after  the  seeing."  This  saying  rests  on  the  thought, 
"  The  sight  of  God  is  so  overwhelming,  that  he  who  has  seen 
Him  can  see  nothing  more,  and  must  die."  The  feeling  of  fear, 
that  when  God,  or  a  God — a  Divine  Being — has  appeared  to 
man,  that  man  must  die,  pervades  the  whole  of  heathen  antiquity 
.  also.  But  that  which  among  the  heatlien  was  only  an  indistinct 
feeling  of  the  majesty  and  greatness  of  God,  became  in  the  Old 
Testament,  at  least  among  religious  men,  a  deep  feeling  of  the 
unworthiness  of  sinful  man  to  appear  before  the  Holy  God  (cf. 
particularly  Isa.  vi.  5).  The  belief,  which  is  so  frequently  men- 
tioned in  the  Old  Testament,  that  man  could  not  look  on  God 
without  dying  (Gen.  xxxii.  30 ;  Judges  vi.  22,  ch.  xiii.  23),  is 
confirmed  by  God  Himself  (Exod.  xxxiii.  18) ;  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  is  contravened  by  a  number  of  facts  (cf ,  besides  the 
above-mentioned  passages,  Exod.  xxiv.  10,  11).  By  reason  of 
his  sinfulness,  and  that  utter  weakness  which  is  inseparable 
from  sin,  a  creature  cannot  endure  the  sight  of  the  Holy  God, 
when  He  reveals  in  any  visible  manner  His  might  and  holiness, — 
even  the  sight  of  an  angel  coming  immediately  from  God  is 
terrible  (St  Luke  i.  12,  13)  ;  yet  that  which  is  in  itself  im- 
possible, from  the  corruption  of  the  creature,  can  be  made 
possible  through  God's  grace  and  mercy,  who  absolves  men  from 
their  sins,  and  makes  them  capable  of  receiving  the  veiled  reve- 
lation of  His  holiness.  Hence  the  chikUike  joy  when  man,  after 
participation  of  a  vision  from  God,  has  felt  himself  refreshed, 
renovated,  and  invigorated ;  until,  at  length,  God  revealed  His 
full  glory  in  the  flesh ;  and  now  they  who  believe  on  Him  may 
cry  out  with  joy,  "  We  beheld  His  glory ;  we  have  seen  Him  with 
our  eyes  ;  we  have  handled  the  Word  of  life :"  St  John  i.  14  ;  1 
St  John  i.  1. 

Ver.  14.  Beer-lahai-roi. — "  Well  of  the  seeing  to  life  ;"  i.e.,  a 
well,  where  man  sees  God  and  yet  lives,  and  then  at  the  same 
time  is  looked  on  by  Him  with  grace,  and  blessed.  Cf.  ch. 
xxxii.  30  :  "  P'ni-el,"  a  place  where  one  sees  God's  countenance 
and  the  soul  is  preserved. 

Kadesh  and  Bered. — Kadesh  lies  on  the  south  border  of 
Palestine  :  Bered,  or  Barad,  is  unknown. 


GENESIS  XTII.  1-8.  107 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Ver.  1.  Almiglity  God. — It  is  to  this  place  tliat  Exod.  \4.  2, 
etc.,  refers.  God  had  revealed  Himself  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  as  "  the  Almighty  God"  (El  Schaddai).  His  name 
Jehovah  (which  there  is  "  the  Eternal,  Unchangeable,  Self- 
existent,  Faithful  God)  was  unknown  to  them,  i.e.,  not  in  the 
literal  sense,  since  from  the  beginning  of  Creation  He  called 
Himself  Jehovah ;  but  because  name  and  meaning  are  never 
separated.  [Although  the  name  Jehovah  occurs,  yet  until  the 
meaning  of  the  name  was  revealed  by  the  fulfilment  of  the 
pi'omises,  He  is  said  not  to  be  known  by  that  appellation.]  To 
the  patriarchs,  God  called  Himself  especially  the  Almighty, 
until,  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  promises.  He  proved  Himself  to  be 
the  Unchangeable,  True,  and  Sure  God. 

He  here  requires  unconditional  trust  and  reliance  on  the 
Word.  A  view  is  opened  into  a  new  Future,  which  begins 
from  henceforth. 

Perfect. — As  My  might  shall  be  thine,  and  altogether  for  thy 
good,  if  thou  believest  on  Me  ;  so  surrender  thyself  up  entirely 
to  ]\Ie,  that  no  one  may  have  part  in  that  which  is  due  from  thee 
to  Me.  "  To  walk  before  God,"  is  to  walk  in  the  fruition  of  His 
grace,  and  in  the  lively  consciousness  of  his  all-present,  holy  love. 

Ver.  5.  Father. — Ab-ram  means  "  high  father" — a  general 
title  of  honour,  which  other  nomadic  princes  (Sheiks)  might 
bear.  Ab-raham  =  the  Father  of  a  multitude  ;  and  refers  to  the 
particular  Divine  promise  of  which  he  is  partaker. 

Ver.  8.  Everlasting. — God  makes  with  Abraham  and  his  pos- 
terity an  everlasting  covenant ;  since  this  covenant  of  grace  was 
the  first  germ  of  the  new  covenant  in  Jesus  Christ.  But 
even  with  Abraham's  descendants  after  the  flesh,  does  God  ever 
continue  in  a  particular  covenanted  relationship.  Their  present 
punishment,  after  the  rejection  of  their  King  and  Saviour,  as 
well  as  their  hopes  for  time  to  come,  both  result  from  God's 
covenant  with  them.  Cf.  Rom.  xi.  29.  The  "  eternal  pos- 
session" stands,  in  the  first  instance,  in  contrast  to  the  present 
temporary  abode  of  Abraham  in  Canaan.     Yet  at  the  same 


108  GENESIS  XVII.  13,  14. 

time  is  tliis  land,  which  God  promised  as  an  inheritance  to 
Abraham  and  his  seed,  the  visible  pledge,  the  germ  and  pro- 
phetic type,  of  the  new  world,  which  belongs  to  the  Church  of 
the  Lord  :  it  is  therefore  called  emphatically,  "  an  Eternal  Pos- 
session." The  same  holds  good  of  all  the  Divine  ordinances, 
wliicli  in  the  Old  Testament  are  declared  to  be  everlasting- 
ordinances  ;  and  yet  in  the  New  Testament  are  in  the  letter 
abrogated,  while  in  the  spirit  they  have  been  really  fulfilled. 
So  it  is  with  Circumcision,  the  Passover,  the  Priesthood,  etc. 

Ver.  13.  Covenant. — Together  with  the  solemn  establishment 
of  the  covenant,  is  an  abiding  sign  of  covenant  joined — a  pro- 
phetic type  of  the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament.  Circum- 
cision has  this  in  common  with  baptism,  that  the  command 
of  God  does  not  appoint  an  entirely  new  custom,  but  uses  and 
transforms  to  its  own  purpose,  one  which  already  existed.  Cir- 
cumcision was  a  custom  in  very  early  times  among  the  Egyptians 
■ — perhaps  among  some  other  people — however,  not  among  the 
Canaanites.  In  Egypt  it  wms  confined  to  the  priestly  caste,  and 
perhaps  a  few  others,  who  voluntarily  imitated  them.  It  was  there 
an  emblem  of  purity,  and  closely  connected  with  the  deification  of 
the  powers  of  nature.  In  the  case  of  Abraham  and  his  posterity 
there  was  this  difference,  that  circumcision  was  not  restricted  to 
one  class,  but  all  the  males  were  without  distinction  to  be  circum- 
cised for  a  sign  that  all  the  Israelites  were  to  be  "  a  royal  priest- 
hood, a  holy  people  :"  Exod.  xix.  6.  In  the  next  place,  with 
them,  circumcision  had  not  the  slightest  connection  with  the 
Egyptian  deification  of  nature.  It  was  an  emblem  of  purity, 
but  of  moral  purity  (hence  the  many  exhortations  to  circum- 
cision of  the  heart,  Deut.  x.  16,  ch.  xxx.  6  ;  Jer.  iv.  4,  ch.  ix,  26  ; 
Ezek.  xvi.  30  ;  Acts  vii.  51).  It  reminds  man  of  the  truth,  that 
from  the  first  he  is  a  sinner ;  and  so  is  a  continual  declaration  of 
the  existence  of  original  sin  and  the  necessity  of  repentance, — at 
the  same  time  a  prediction  of  the  Deliverer  and  Saviour  from 
Abraham's  seed.  Moreover,  circumcision  served  to  keep  Abra- 
ham and  his  descendants  separate  from  all  people  round  about 
them,  and  obliged  them  to  the  observance  of  the  whole  law 
Avhich  God  had  given  them.  For  seven  days  did  a  child  remain 
in  his  natural  impurity ;  on  the  eighth,  he  entered  into  cove- 
nant with  God. 

Ver.  14.  Broken. — The  old  covenant  was  especially  a  cove- 


GENESIS  XVII.  15-18.  109 

nant  of  compulsion  and  outward  discii)llne.  The  entrance 
therein  was  not  voluntary  :  it  stood  open  to  none  of  Abraham's 
posterity  to  withdraw  from  the  grace  which,  by  means  of  this 
covenant,  was  bestowed  on  the  whole  people,  and  through  them 
on  the  whole  world.  The  punishment  of  "  being  cut  off  from  his 
people,"  which  God  threatens  on  the  neglect  of  circumcision, 
occurs  very  frequently  afterwards,  under  the  law,  as  the  penalty 
for  very  grievous  crimes  ;  more  particularly  those  against  the 
theocracy,  i.e.,  sins  against  God's  majesty  as  King  of  His  people, 
which  involved  an  entire  breach  of  the  covenant  (cf.,  e.g.,  Exod. 
xxxi.  14;  Lev.  xvii.  4,  ch.  xx.  17).  This  punishment  is  a  threat- 
ening, on  God's  part,  that  all  the  evil  should  overtake  the  trans- 
gressor, from  which,  through  God's  covenant,  he  was  defended. 
It  was  open  to  every  one  to  become  his  accuser,  and  ]irocure  his 
death ;  and  even  if  he  escaped  this,  he  lived  in  continual  fear 
that  God  might,  in  some  immediate  manner,  bring  the  punish- 
ment upon  him  (as  Exod.  iv.  24).  Therefore  we  find  that  on 
some  the  threatening  of  being  cut  off  from  the  people  was  fol- 
lowed by  death  (Num.  xv.  30,  31) ;  while  the  omission  of  cir- 
cumcision in  the  wilderness  was  visited  with  the  general  Divine 
chastisement,  which  is  announced  in  Num.  xiv.  22—24. 

Ver.  15.  Sai'ai  means  "  my  mistress" — a  title  of  honour  on 
the  side  of  inferiors.  Sarah,  on  the  contrary,  simply  "  princess," 
the  high  lady  from  whom,  as  is  afterwards  promised,  even  kings 
shall  issue. 

Ver.  17.  Laufjlied. — As  God  now  says  of  the  childless,  aged 
Sarah,  what  lie  had  before  said  of  himself,  Abraham  is  seized 
with  the  greatest  amazement.  This  laughing  was  not  entirely 
in  its  nature  unbelief,  but  arises  out  of  the  feeling  of  wonder  at 
the  unheard-of  event  promised,  and  at  the  same  time  of  deep  joy ; 
still,  of  course,  a  certain  amount  of  doubt  was  mixed  with  it. 
Abraham  cannot  as  yet  believe  for  joy  the  astonishing  promise. 
From  like  feelings  Sarah  afterwards  laughs  (ch.  xviii.  12).  But 
when,  on  the  circumcision  of  the  boy,  he  solemnly  receives  the 
name  "  Jitschak" — one  laughs — this  laughter  was  turned  into 
pure  joy  (ch.  xxi.  5-7). 

Ver.  18.  Ishmael  live — "  that  he  might  be  blessed  by  Thee  ! — ■ 
that  he  might  be  inheritor  of  the  promised  blessings."  In  this 
is  implied  the  desire  that  God  would  more  clearly  reveal  His 
will. 


110  GENESIS  XVII.  19-23  ;    XVIII.  1-5. 

Ver.  19.  Isaac. — This  is  the  Greek  version  of  the  name  :  in 
the  Hebrew,  "  Jitschak." 

After  him. — The  covenant  with  him  does  not  relate  to  tem- 
poral goods  only. 

Ver.  20.  Twelve  princes. — See  ch.  xxv.  16. 

Ver.  23.  Said  unto  Idm. — Abraham  evinced  at  all  times  the 
most  exact  and  perfect  obedience. 


CHAPTER  XVin. 

Ver.  1.  Mamre. — "  Under  the  Oaks  of  Mamre,"  as  ch.  xiii.  18. 
Mamre  was  an  Amorite,  after  whom  Abraham's  place  of  resi- 
dence is  called  the  Oaks  of  Mamre,  though  occasionally  only 
"  Mamre."  It  was  a  grove  of  oaks  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
fruitful  Hebron.  "  The  environs  of  this  town  resemble  a  vast, 
rich  olive-garden.  The  slopes  of  the  hills,  as  rich  as  the  level 
of  the  valley,  are  verdant  and  blooming  with  every  flower  of  the 
meadow  and  garden ;  while  in  different  parts,  especially  on  the 
side  towards  Jerusalem,  are  to  be  seen  fruitful  vineyards." — 
Schubert,  ii.  468.  God  now  appeared  to  Abraham  in  a  form 
assumed  for  the  particular  object  in  view. 

Ver.  2.  Bowed  Idmself. — As  in  the  presence  of  very  dis- 
tinguished guests,  particularly  kings.  This  reverence  of  bowing 
until  the  face  touched  the  ground,  which  in  Scripture  is  often 
called  "  worshipping,"  was  a  posture  which  recognised  in  a 
superior  a  representative  of  God  Himself;  or,  in  the  case  of  the 
heathen,  a  messenger  from  Him,  or  an  incarnation  of  some 
divine  person.  So  far  as  a  certain  degree  of  truth  was  contained 
in  this  notion,  the  act  of  reverence  was  not  actual  idolatry,  though 
there  were  times  when  it  was  important  to  keep  in  view  the 
wide  distinction  between  God  Himself  and  His  messengers  {e.g., 
Acts  X.  26;  Eev.  xxii.  9). 

Ver.  4.  Feet. — In  the  East,  and  indeed  in  ancient  times 
everywhere,  the  washing  of  the  feet  (which  were  only  covered  on 
the  soles  by  sandals)  was  a  mark  of  hospitality. 

Ver.  5.  So  do. — The  Lord  permits  the  act  of  hospitality  to  be 


GENESIS  XVIII.  6-15.  Ill 

paid  Himself,  together  with  His  angels,  in  order  by  this  gracious 
proof  of  His  love  to  afford  the  surest  pledge  of  His  promises. 

Ver.  6.  Make  cakes. — Thin  cakes  of  unleavened  bread,  baked 
on  tlie  coals,  or  in  a  kind  of  frying  dish,  are  even  to  this  day  an 
usual  offering  of  hospitality  among  the  Bedouins. 

Ver.  7.  Dress  it. — It  is  customary  among  the  Arabs  of  the 
Desert  now,  as  it  was  among  the  Greeks  of  antiquity,  for  the 
man  as  well  as  the  woman  of  high  rank  to  take  part  in  house- 
hold work.  In  Homer,  we  find  that  even  kings  themselves  cut 
up  and  roasted  the  animals  for  food. 

Ver.  8.  Butter. — What  is  translated  "  buttei*"  must  be  under- 
stood to  mean  a  thickened  milk ;  since  in  the  East  "  butter"'  is 
only  used  medicinally.  Oil  is  used  in  abundance  in  the  food ; 
but,  on  account  of  the  heat  of  the  climate,  butter  would  never 
keep  sweet. 

Did  eat. — Abraham  kills  a  calf,  bakes  cakes,  places  a  table, 
waits  on  the  angels,  and  thei/  eat :  all  this  happened  plainly  as  it 
is  narrated,  and  not  in  appearance  merely.  Our  body,  so  long 
as  it  is  mortal,  requires  the  renewal  of  its  vigour,  and  hence  the 
feeling  of  hunger  is  given.  From  our  body,  power  is  continually 
passing  away,  though  unconsciously  to  ourselves,  and  must  be 
continually  renewed.  As  long  as  we  bear  our  present  bodies,  we 
shall  feel  this  need, — we  shall  hunger, — and  from  hunger  we 
shall  eat.  But  an  angel  does  not  eat  from  a  feeling  of  this 
necessity ;  since  it  is  one  thing  to  be  able  to  perform  an  act, 
quite  another  thing  to  be  obliged  to  perform  it.  Man  eats,  that 
he  may  live :  an  angel  eats  to  l)e  like  a  man.  Thus  did  Christ 
eat  after  His  resurrection,  not  to  supply  a  need  of  His  flesh,  but 
to  convince  His  disciples  of  the  reality  of  His  body. — S.  Augus- 
tine, 362  de  Resurrect,  v.  1422  sq.  Ben. 

Ver.  9.  In  the  tent;  i.e.,  in  the  hinder  part,  where  was  the 
woman's  apartment. 

Ver.  10.  Time  of  life. — Heb. :  "  I  will  return  to  thee  so  as  the 
year  lives,"  i.e.,  lives  again  ;  the  present  time  of  the  year  returns, 
therefore,  from  this  season  of  the  year. 

Ver.  15.  Afraid. — She  had  laughed  "within  herself,"  and  so 
hoped  to  escape  detection,  since  she  did  not  as  yet,  at  least  not 
with  certainty,  know  the  Lord  to  be  present. 

Didst  laugh. — Even  the  unbelief  which  was  concealed  in  her 
breast  must  be  brought  to  light,  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise 


112  GENESIS  XYIII.  16-20. 

depended  on  her  trust  in  it.  It  would  not  be  accomplislied 
without  faith. 

Ver.  IG,  Rose  tip. — We  must  attentively  consider  the  progress 
of  the  history  from  this  point.  The  three  men  rise  up  and  turn 
their  steps  towards  Sodom.  On  the  way  they  stand  still ;  and 
He  who  already  had  spoken  as  the  Lord  Jehovah,  announces  to 
Abraham  His  purpose  to  inquire  into  the  cry  which  had  come 
up  to  Him  fi'om  Sodom.  The  two  angels  then  turn  towards 
Sodom  (xix.  1) ;  while  the  third,  the  Lord,  remains  and  listens 
to  Abraham's  entreaty  for  the  city.  The  two  angels  arrive  at 
Lot's  house,  pass  the  night  there,  and  declare  that  the  Lord  had 
sent  them  to  destroy  the  city  :  in  the  morning,  they  lead  him 
out.  Here  the  third,  the  Lord  Himself,  comes  to  them  (ch.  xix. 
17).  Lot,  who  did  not  yet  know  them,  appeals  to  the  whole 
three  for  a  particular  mercy  (ver.  18),  but  only  one  out  of  the 
three  answers  him,  and  speaks  now  in  His  own  name ;  and 
thereupon,  as  Jehovah,  He  rains  down  fire  and  brimstone  out 
of  heaven  from  the  Lord  (Jehovah) :  ver.  21-25. 

Ver.  18.  Blessed. — Even  here,  when  God  affords  the  greatest 
proof  of  His  gracious  condescension,  nay,  of  His  friendship  for 
Abraham,  the  reason  why  He  so  distinguishes  him  is  this — because 
through  him  shall  all  the  people  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  In 
order  to  show  him  how  blessed  a  thing  it  is  to  serve  the  true  and 
living  God,  and  to  stand  in  the  relation  of  childlike  intercourse 
with  Him  (a  blessing  which  is  granted  to  all  those  who  are 
blessed  through  Abraham),  God  makes  known  His  purpose  to 
him  as  to  an  intimate  friend  :  cf.  St  John  xv.  15. 

Ver.  19.  Knoio  him. — In  the  Heb.  the  sense  is  different. 
"  Since  I  have  known  him  (i.e.,  from  My  love  have  chosen  him, 
as  Amos  iii.  2  ;  St  Matt.  vii.  23  ;  1  Cor.  viii.  3),  in  order  that 
he  may  command  his  sons,  and  his  house  after  him,  and  (i.e.,  in 
order  that)  they  may  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  etc.  Not  be- 
cause God  knew  beforehand  that  Abraham  would  teach  his 
family  the  ways  of  God,  but  in  order  that  he  may  do  it,  did 
God  choose  him  ;  and  when  by  the  power  of  God's  grace  he  has 
done  it,  then  shall  the  rich  blessing  come  upon  him :  cf.  St 
John  XV.  16. 

Ver.  20.  Grievous. — Literally,  "  A  cry  of  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah, since  it  is  great :  their  sin,  since  it  is  very  grievous."  By 
placing  the  words  "  Cry"  and  "  Sin"  first,  the  declaration  re- 


GENESIS  XVIII.  21-32.  113 

ccives  a  very  awful  impressiveness :   it  expresses  more   than  a 
mere  declaration  or  description. 

Ver.  21.  Will  hioxo. — The  perfect  justice  of  God,  the  exact 
weighing  of  all  which  men  have  done,  is  in  a  most  striking  man- 
ner represented  in  this  expression.  God  places  the  Sodomites 
on  their  trial.  The  trial  was  not  needful  for  His  information ; 
but  it  is  needful  that  every  sin  should  be  brought  to  light,  to  be 
either  blotted  out,  or  punished. 

Ver.  22.  The  men. — The  two  angels  who  .accompanied  the 
Lord  (ch.  xix.  1).  The  Lord  remained,  and  Abraham  with  Ilim. 
Ver.  24.  Fifty  righteous. — The  greatness  and  extent  of  the 
guilt  of  otliers,  which  admits  of  no  forgiveness,  is  often  incom- 
prehensible to  him  who  is  conscious  that  he  himself  is  saved  by 
grace. 

Ver.  26.  Their  sakes. — The  righteous  who  dwell  in  a  place 
together  with  the  wicked  are  able  to  stay  God's  punishments, 
since  He  wills  not  to  destroy  them  with  His  enemies.  A  poor 
obscure  child  of  God  possesses  a  power  to  turn  aside  the  course 
of  the  woi'ld's  history.     So  unsearchable  are  God's  judgments. 

Ver.  32.  For  tens  sake. — "  Can  any  being  be  imagined  more 
gracious  than  our  blessed  Lord '?  We  know  beforehand  that  we 
are  in  the  wrong,  and  we  do  not  doubt  His  justice,  yet  wo 
would  willingly  unbosom  ourselves :  where  can  we  find  any 
one  to  whom  we  may  resort?  Go  straight  to  the  eternal  living- 
God,  with  every  sorrow,  doubt,  care,  and  scruple.  I  cannot  suf- 
ficiently express  my  sense  of  the  blessed  privilege  of  communion 
with  our  Lord.  I  can  well  conceive  how  Abraham's  long  dis- 
course over  Sodom  is  carried  on  :  I  can  picture  to  myself  Isaac, 
how  he  comes  from  the  fountain  of  the  Living  and  Seeing  One  ; 
Moses,  how  he  speaks  nothing,  but  cries  out,  Exod.  xiv.  15; 
David,  when  he  inquires  of  the  Lord  what  shall  happen  at 
Keiluh  and  Ziph  (1  Sam.  xxiii.)  ;  Hezekiah,  when  he  expos- 
tulates on  his  deathbed,  2  Kings  xx.  3 ;  Daniel  in  vision  ; 
Nathanael  under  the  fig-tree;  our  Lord,  when  He  speaks  with 
the  Father ;  Peter,  when  he  takes  our  Lord  aside  and  rebukes 
Him  ;  Paul,  when  he  steers  the  ship  against  the  Avaves  and 
Avinds ;  and  if  I  should  think  what  John  did  on  the  Loi'd's  day, 
when  he  saw  the  vision  of  the  Revelations,  what  was  it  but  con- 
verse with  Another  at  table  ?  Blessed  are  we  wdio  have  so  mer- 
ciful a  Lord." — Ziuzcndorf  s  Jeremiah. 

H 


114  GENESIS  XIX. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


The  righteous  judgment  of  God  is  now  declared  in  a  fearful 
event,  which  at  the  same  time  serves  to  magnify  still  further  the 
grace  of  God  towards  Abraham  by  saving  his  brother's  son  out 
of  the  overthrow..  In  the  paradisaical  region  of  the  Valley  of 
Siddim  dwelt  the  most  depraved  of  all  the  tribes  of  Canaan,  on 
whom,  more  than  on  the  rest,  God's  punishment  was  to  fall.  The 
kind  and  manner  of  the  punishment  were  so  regulated  as  to  call 
into  action  the  natural  properties  of  the  country.  The  springs 
of  bitumen  (cf.  ch.  xiv.  10,  note)  were  ignited  by  lightning,  an 
earthquake  tore  the  ground  asunder,  subterranean  streams  of 
water  rose  to  the  surface,  and  the  lately  blooming  valley  was 
covered  with  a  salt  lake,  deadly  to  everything.  Its  proximity  to 
the  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  would  be  a  standing  me- 
morial of  the  judgment  of  God.  So  it  remains  to  this  day. 
Tacitus  thus  describes  it,  and  his  account  holds  good  to  the  pre- 
sent time :  "  A  lake  of  great  extent,  offering  to  the  eye  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  sea,  to  the  smell  a  most  offensive  odour.  Its 
evaporations  are  fatal  to  those  who  live  by  it.  The  water  is  so 
heavy  that  the  wind  does  not  stir  it,  and  neither  fish  can  live  in 
it,  nor  bird  on  it.  Anything  thrown  on  its  surface  floats — swim- 
mers or  not  swimmers,  all  are  buoyed  up.  At  certain  times  it 
throws  out  bitumen.  The  borders  of  the  lake  are  said  to  have 
been  once  fruitful,  and  the  site  of  large  cities.  They  were  burnt 
up  by  lightning,  and  the  parched  ground  has  never  recovered  it' 
fertility.  Everything  that  grows  there  indigenously,  or  is  sown — 
weeds,  or  flowers,  or  shrubs — is  black,  and  crumbles  into  ashes." — - 
Modern  investigation  has  discovered  that  the  water  contains  42 
per  cent,  parts  of  salt,  and  24  of  muriate  of  magnesia.  It  gives 
the  skin  an  oily  surface,  and  then  peels  it  off.  No  more  jagged 
mountain  can  be  seen  than  the  salt  mountain  at  the  south  end  of 
the  lake.  Around  are  lonely  shores,  without  vegetation,  or  habi- 
tation of  man.  Wild  animals  avoid  the  region,  as  they  can  find 
no  food  there ;  only  vultures  and  eagles  build  their  nests  on  the 
black  rocks,  and  swallows  search  here  and  there  for  insects. 
— Throughout  the  whole  of  the  O.  and  N.  T.  the  overthrow  of 


GENESIS  XIX.  1-8.  115 

Sodom  Is  set  before  us  as  an  emblem  of  all  God's  judgments, 
especially  that  of  the  last  day  (cf.  Deut.  xxix.  23,  eh.  xxxii.  32  ; 
Isa.  i.  9,  10,  eh.  xiii.  19;  Jer.  xlix.  17,  18,  eh.  1.40;  Lam. 
iv.  6  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  46;  St  Matt.  xi.  23  ;  St  Luke  xvii.  29  ;  2  Pet. 
ii.  6  ;  Rev.  xi.  8) ;  and  so  the  restoration  of  the  salt  water  in  the 
Dead  Sea  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  images  of  the  renewing 
of  the  earth  :  Ezek.  xlvii.  1,  etc.  Likewise  the  following  history 
may  be  regarded  step  by  step  as  an  image  of  the  inner  giving  up 
of  the  world  which  lieth  in  wickedness,  and  of  tlie  denial  of  com- 
munion with  it  from  regard  to  God's  threatened  judgments,  and 
in  reliance  on  His  preventing  and  assisting  grace. 

Ver.  1.  Gate. — The  covered  doorways,  and  the  piazzas  ad- 
joining (such  are  to  be  seen  in  modern  fortified  towns),  were  in 
ancient  times  usual  places  of  concourse,  where  the  inhabitants 
met  for  amusement,  or  to  transact  public  business,  especially  the 
administration  of  justice  :  cf.  1  Sam.  iv.  18 ;  Job  xxix.  7  ;  Deut. 
xxi.  19. 

Ver.  2.  Behold.- — Lot  takes  the  angels  for  distinfjuished 
strangers,  whose  appearance  inspired  awe.  As  a  good  man,  he  is 
distinguished  for  the  widely-cultivated  oriental  virtue  of  hospi- 
tality. The  blessing  which  he  gained  thereby  is  mentioned  in 
the  N.  T.  as  an  example  to  ourselves  :  Heb.  iii.  2.  Perhaps  he 
apprehended  that  in  a  place  of  such  fearful  profligacy  some  evil 
might  overtake  them.  Only  at  ver.  13  do  they  declare  them- 
selves to  be  messengers  of  the  Lord. 

Nay,  but  we  loill  abide. — Travellers  often  carried  tents  with 
them ;  but  it  was  customary  also  to  pass  the  night  under  the 
open  heaven.  They  would  put  Lot  to  the  proof,  since  it  was 
regarded  as  a  mark  of  the  corruption  of  morals  in  a  place  to 
allow  a  stranger  to  remain  in  the  streets  (Judges  xix.  15 ;  Job 
xxxi.  32). 

Ver.  5.  Knoio  them. — In  addition  to  the  fearful  sin  itself, 
against  which  God's  law  afterwards  enacted  the  punishment  of 
death  (Lev.  xviii.  22,  ch.  xx.  13),  the  depravity  of  these 
Sodomites  is  shown  in  their  violation  of  the  sacred  law  of  hospi- 
tality, and  the  shameless  manner  in  which  they  express  their 
purpose,  as  if  it  were  something  allowable  :  cf.  Isa.  iii.  9. 

Ver.  8.  Two  daughters. — We  must  regard  Lot's  proposal  as 
the  result  of  desperation,  as  it  cannot  in  itself  be  justified  any 
more  than  Abraham's  lie,  ch.  xii.  10 ;  yet,  under  the  circum- 


116  GENESIS  XIX.  9-17. 

Stances,  it  admits  of  some  excuse.  The  sacredness  of  hospitality 
was,  according  to  tlie  code  of  the  time,  above  everything  else. 
Perhaps  Lot  hoped  that,  as  his  daughters  were  espoused  to 
Sodomites,  they  would  not  proceed  to  extremities. 

Ver.  9.  Judge. — Lot  had  evidently  the  character  of  a  corrector 
of  morals  among  them,  and  was  accordingly  hated  for  it :  cf. 
2  St  Pet.  ii.  7,  8. 

Ver.  10.  Blindness. — Not  literally  blinded,  but  struck  with 
reeling  vision  like  drunkards.  So  far  were  they  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed, that  their  hopeless  wickedness  might  be  manifested. 

Ver.  12.  Out  of  this  place. — Even  Lot's  sons-in-law  were 
tainted  with  the  prevailing  depravity,  which  is  shown  clearly 
afterwards  by  the  sin  of  his  daughters.  The  dangerous  intimacy 
of  Lot  with  this  corrupt  people  is  given  as  a  warning  to  our- 
selves. 

Ver.  1 3.  Cry. — The  men  against  whom  the  sin  has  been  com- 
mitted, the  beasts  who  have  been  abused,  all  cry  out  to  God  for 
vengeance  :  cf.  ch.  iv.  10.  Li  this  expression  is  contained  the 
solemn  thought,  that  for  every  violation  of  the  Divine  order  a 
satisfaction  will  be  required,  that  this  sacred  order  must  be  re- 
stored in  every  case  by  the  punishment  of  him  who  has  vio- 
lated it. 

Ver.  14.  As  one  that  mocked. — A  lively  representation  of 
those  whom  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  warns  of  impending 
punishment :  cf.  St  Luke  xvii.  28,  29. 

Ver.  16.  Merciful;  lit.,  "  in  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  upon 
them."  There  is  no  greater  love  than  that  which,  even  at  the 
hazard  of  being  vexatious  and  troublesome,  presses  on  the 
sinner,  and  says,  "  Escape  for  thy  life  !" 

Ver.  17.  Look  not. — To  look  back  is  a  sign  of  unbelief,  and  of 
cleaving  to  sin.  Who,  in  such  a  case,  looks  behind,  does  not 
believe  the  threat  that  the  danger  is  his  own :  cf.  St  Luke  ix. 
62.  Here,  again,  we  find  One  who  speaks  with  Lot.  They 
lead  him  out,  but  He  speaks  to  him.  Here  has  the  Lord,  or 
tlie  appointed  Angel  of  the  Lord,  His  co-equal  Revealer,  again 
joined  the  other  two.  Lot  recognises  Him  as  the  first  among 
them ;  since,  while  he  directs  his  words  to  all  three,  he  speaks 
yet  but  with  One,  whom  he  addresses  by  the  name  of  God, 
*'  Lord ;"  and  He  now  declares  in  His  own  name  what  He 
will  do. 


GENESIS  XIX.  20-29.  117 

Ver.  20.  Little  one. — The  town  is  a  little  one,  and  therefore 
does  Lot  plead  for  its  being  spared,  as  vengeance  would  be  satis- 
fied with  the  great  and  flourishing  towns.  From  ver.  21  we 
learn  that  this  town  Avas  originally  doomed  to  destruction  like 
the  rest. 

Ver.  22.  Till  tJwii. — How  forcibly  is  God's  justice,  as  well  as 
His  love  and  forbearance,  here  expressed !  He  will  not  suffer 
one  just  man  to  perish  in  the  judgment  on  the  godless ;  but  for 
the  sake  of  one  righteous  man  He  spares  a  guilty  city.  He  can 
not,  by  reason  of  His  covenant  with  one  man.  In  the  decree, 
that  for  the  sake  of  His  elect  God  will  spare  a  city,  there  is  no- 
thing arbitrary  or  contradictory  to  the  Divine  justice.  God  re- 
serves to  Himself  His  judgment  upon  individuals,  and  does  not 
send  His  final  condemnation  on  a  community  until,  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  righteous,  the  influx  of  His  renewing  grace  and 
mercy  is  barred. 

Ver.  23.  Zoar,  "  The  little,"  spared  on  account  of  its  small- 
ness,  lay  on  the  southern  entrance  to  the  ])rcsent  Salt  Valley,  in 
tlie  neighbourhood  of  which  is  the  jagged  Rock-salt  Mountain. 

Ver.  24;  The  Lord. — "  From  the  Lord"  clearly  expresses  the 
distinction  of  persons  in  the  Godhead,  as  is  intimated  in  the 
whole  of  the  O.  T.,  and  clearly  revealed  in  the  N.  T. 

Ver.  26.  Pillar. — From  love  to  her  former  abode,  and  from 
unbelief,  she  would  not  abstain  from  disobedience  to  God's  com- 
mands. She  remained  standing.  The  sulphur  blast  overtook 
her,  and,  like  all  the  country  round,  she  was  enveloped  in  an 
encrustation  of  salt,  in  which  state  she  was  afterwards  found  :  cf. 
St  Luke  xvii.  32. 

Ver.  29.  Remembered. — This  short  remark  points  out  that 
Lot  was  saved  for  Abraham's  sake,  and  on  his  account  only  is 
all  this  narrative  given.  It  is  worth  mentioning  that  a  resem- 
blance of  this  history  is  to  be  found  in  the  Greek  fable  of  Phile- 
mon and  Baucis.  Two  gods  come  down  from  heaven  to  know 
by  personal  experience  the  wickedness  of  the  men  of  a  certain 
country.  They  are  inhospitably  repulsed  from  every  door  except 
that  of  Philemon,  who  receives  them  in  a  friendly  manner. 
They  declare  to  him  they  are  come  to  destroy  that  region.  At 
their  command,  Philemon  and  Baucis  save  themselves  by  fleeing 
to  a  mountain,  without  looking  behind  them ;  and  when,  at  last, 
they  look  on  the  country,  it  is  changed  into  a  lake. 


118  GENESIS  XIX.  30-38;    XX.  1-9. 

Ver.  30.  Cave. — The  mountain  district  of  that  part  abounds 
in  caves. 

Yer.  31.  Earth  ;  Heb.,  "in  the  land."  It  is  altogether  false  to 
justify  this  guilty  act  of  Lot's  daughters  by  supposing  they  ima- 
gined all  mankind,  by  God's  judgment,  were  cut  otf  from  the 
earth.     Their  residence  in  Zoar  contradicts  this. 

Ver.  37.  31oah  ;  i.e.,  "  from  my  father." 

Ver.  38.  Ben-ammi;  i.e.,  "son  of  my  people."  The  descend- 
ants of  these  two  were  afterwards  the  bitter  enemies  of  the 
Israelites,  who  were  not  allowed  to  meddle  with  them  on  their 
passage  to  Canaan:  Deut.  ii.  9,  19.  Lot's  descendants  were 
excluded  from  the  congregation  of  the  Lord  (Deut.  xxiii.  3)  ; 
and  finally  they  were  made  "  servants"  and  tributaries  by  David : 
2  Sam.  viii.  2. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Ver.  1.  Kadesh,  towards  the  south-east,  near  the  Dead  Sea. — 
Shur,  towards  Egypt :  cf.  ch.  xvi. — Gerar,  in  the  south-western 
part  of  Canaan,  in  the  land  of  the  Philistines. 

Ver.  3.  God. — He  is  not  here  called  the  "  Lord,"  Jehovah,  be- 
cause one  is  addressed  who,  although  a  worshipper  of  the  true 
God,  was  nevertheless  not  in  covenant  with  Him,  as  Abraham 
was.  At  that  time  it  would  seem  even  these  Philistines  were 
not  as  yet  idolatrous  (just  as  Melchizedek  was  a  worshipper  of  the 
true  God),  yet  they  knew  not  God  as  Jehovah,  as  the  God  who 
had  entered  into  a  covenant  with  His  servants. 

She  is  a  man^s  wife. — We  findj  from  ver.  7,  17,  that  he  was 
sick,  and  by  that  means  preserved  from  the  sin  (ver.  6).  God 
threatened  that  the  sickness  would  be  unto  death,  if  he  dis- 
obeyed His  warning. 

Ver.  6.  Sinning. — "  Here  we  may  observe  that  a  sin  is  com- 
mitted against  God  when  an  action  is  done  which  seems  in  the 
eyes  of  men  of  small  moment,  because  they  treat  lightly  mere 
sins  of  the  flesh." — St  Augustine. 

Ver.  7.   Prophet. — Cf  Ps.  cv.  15. 

Ver,  9.  Ought  not. — Abraham  cannot  reply  to  this  reproach, 
which  contains  the  reproof  which  God  would  convey  to  him. 


GENESIS  XX.  IG,  18  ;   XXI.  1-12.  119 

Ver.  16.-4  covering. — To  cover  the  sin  of  any  one,  to  cover 
the  countenance  (to  appease,  to  make  him  well-inclined),  are 
very  frequent  expressions  for  atonement,  justification,  forgive- 
ness. The  gift  was  to  be  an  atonement  for  the  wrong  done  to 
Sarah.     The  king  owed  her  a  public  compensation. 

Reproved. — Heb. :  "And  she  is  justified."  "Now  have  I 
made  all  restitution." 

Ver.  18.  Closed. — The  subjects  suffer  as  well  as  the  king, 
since  it  was  God's  will  to  evidence  how  highly  lie  regarded 
Abraham. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Isaac,  the  son  of  promise,  he  who  was  begotten  through  the 
Spirit, — i.e.,  by  the  power  of  the  word  of  God,  and  of  faith — is 
now  born.  Ishmael,  the  son  born  after  the  flesh,  in  a  natural 
way,  grew  up  with  him,  but  as  a  scoffer  at  God's  word. 

In  order  that  Abraham's  natural  affection  might  not  be  a  hin- 
drance to  the  fulfilment  of  His  own  purposes,  God  does  not 
allow  him  "  that  was  born  after  the  flesh,"  from  a  bond-woman, 
to  be  "  heir  together  with  the  son  of  the  free-woman." 

In  all  this  the  great  truth  is  taught  us,  which  runs  through 
the  whole  of  Scripture,  and  is  brought  forward  most  pi'ominently 
in  the  N.  T.,  that  the  claims  of  the  flesh  are  of  no  worth  in 
God's  sight,  but  that  all  is  of  His  free  grace  alone.  This  history, 
therefore,  is  a  type  of  higher  spiritual  relations  (Gal.  iv.  22,  etc.). 
But  at  the  same  time  Ishmael  is  an  example  how  God  extends 
His  guidance  and  blessing  to  those  whom  yet  He  does  not  receive 
into  covenant.  He  vouchsafes  a  portion  even  of  the  spiritual 
blessing  of  Abraham  to  Ishmael's  posterity. 

Ver.  1.  Spoken. — Ch.  xvii.  19. 

Ver.  6.  Laugh. — Of.  ch.  xvii.  17 ;  Ps.  xxvi.  2. 

Ver.  9.  blocking. — Isaac  derived  his  name  from  a  holy  laugh. 
Ishmael,  too,  was  one  who  laughed,  but  Avith  an  unholy  mock- 
ing. He  was  a  stranger  to  the  mystery  of  the  covenant  of  pro- 
mise, and  persecuted  his  brother  with  a  sinful  mocking:  Gal. 
iv.  29. 

Ver.  12.  Isaac, — i.e.,  Isaac's  children  shall  be  thy  real  de- 


120  GENESIS  XXI.  15-31. 

scendants,  on  whom  the  promise  rests :  cf.  Rom.  ix.  7,  8  ;  Heb. 
xi.  18. 

Ver.  15.  Cast. — She  let  the  child  He  there  :  hitherto  she  had 
led  him  by  the  hand.  Ishmael  was  at  that  time  fourteen  years 
old  :  ch.  xvi.  16,  ch.  xxi.  5,  8. 

Ver.  20.  Wilderness. — Ishmael  was  not  banished  to  any  dis- 
tance :  he  dwelt  in  the  near  wilderness  :  cf.  xxv.  9. 

Ver.  22.  Phichol. — Both  these  names  occur  again,  ch.  xxvi. 
26.  Abimelech  means  "  father- king  ;"  Phichol,  "  mouth  of  all" 
— one  who  commands  all.  They  were  both  of  them  at  that  time 
general  names  for  the  kings,  like  Pharaoh,  etc. 

Doest. — The  blessing  of  God,  which  rested  on  Abraham,  moved 
reverence  in  these  heathens,  who  still  served  the  true  God.  We 
have  here  an  image  of  the  blessing  which,  even  in  Old  Testament 
times,  reached  beyond  the  people  of  the  covenant,  and  extended 
itself  to  the  heathen. 

Ver.  25.  Taken. — He  represented  how  little  this  conduct  of 
his  servants  (of  which  he  could  not  be  ignorant)  agreed  with  the 
assurance  just  given  (ver.  23). 

Ver.  31.  Sioare. — The  sacred  number  seven  was  in  ancient 
times  the  number  of  the  covenant  of  God  and  man,  as  it  is  com- 
posed of  the  sacred  number  three  and  of  the  number  four,  which 
is  a  fifjure  of  the  world.  For  this  reason  we  find  it  so  often  used 
in  the  Divine  ordinances.  (Seven  days  form  the  week — after 
seven  days  children  were  to  be  circumcised,  etc.)  It  appears, 
therefore,  that  in  the  solemn  oath  between  Abraham  and  Abi- 
melech it  is  used  as  an  emblem,  and  the  swearing  receives  its 
name  from  this  number.  (In  the  Hebrew,  the  word  translated 
swear,  means  seven.)  This  solemn  present  of  seven  lambs  which 
Abraham  makes,  was  perhaps  not  customary  in  agreements ; 
and,  therefore,  is  intended  here  to  serve  for  the  more  religious 
ratification  of  this  covenant.  Beersheba  (properly,  "  the  well  of 
seven"),  which  became  afterwards  the  celebrated  southern  boun- 
dary of  Canaan,  was  to  be  a  memento  to  the  two  parties  of  their 
oath.  Here  is  the  boundary  of  the  Desert.  "  As  we  advanced 
(from  south  to  north)  the  loose  sand  ceased,  and  the  land  showed 
grass  mixed  with  herbs.  We  then  crossed  the  bed  of  Wady-el- 
Murtubeh,  a  broad  strip  of  land  which  bears  the  traces  of  a  large 
quantity  of  water.  Some  miles  on  we  reached  the  Wady-es- 
Seba,  the  wide  water-course  of  a  winter  torrent.     On  the  north 


GENESIS  XXI.  33  ;    XXII.  121 

side,  close  to  its  banks,  lie  tvvo  deep  wells  which  are  still  called 
'  Ber-es-Scheba  ;' — both  contain  abundance  of  clear,  excellent 
water.  The  ruins  are  here  scattered  over  the  space  of  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  along  the  north  side  of  the  bed  of  the  stream." — (Robin- 
son, i.  337-339  :  he  was  the  first  traveller  who,  for  centuries,  had 
visited  the  place.) 

Ver.  33.  Grove. — Heb. :  "  a  tamarisk  tree" — a  tree  nearly 
of  the  size  of  the  oak,  abounding  in  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  use- 
ful for  building  purposes  and  for  fire-wood.  This  tree,  which 
Abraham  planted,  remained,  it  would  seem,  a  distinguished  tree 
to  later  times,  around  which  were  gathered  the  traditions  con- 
cerning Abraham's  residence  at  Beersheba. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  patriarch,  who  has  been  so  often  proved,  is  now  put  to 
the  severest  trial  of  his  love  and  faith.  The  child  of  promise 
granted  in  his  old  age,  after  so  long  waiting,  for  whose  sake 
Ishmael  had  been  banished,  had  become  the  chief  object  of  his 
earthly  love.  For  his  sake  he  was  a  wanderer  in  Canaan.  But 
God  would  purify  this  affection,  by  bringing  Abraham  to  regard 
his  son  only  as  God's  gift,  entrusted  to  him  for  the  purpose  of 
advancing  God's  kingdom.  He  was  bidden  to  render  back  the 
gift.  This  act,  even  with  the  hope  of  the  resurrection,  required 
on  Abraham's  part  the  renunciation  of  all  present  hopes.  He 
saw  before  his  eyes  only  the  death  of  his  beloved  son ;  and 
nothing  but  firm  trust  in  God's  Avord  could  keep  him  from  falling 
under  his  trial. 

But  how  could  God  command  Abraham  to  offer  up  his  son, 
since  afterwards  in  the  law  He  expressly  forbade  such  acts  as 
"  an  abomination,  on  account  of  which  the  Lord  did  drive  out 
the  Canaanites  from  before  Israel?"  Dent,  xviii.  10-12.  To 
this  it  may  be  replied,  that  God  did  not  intend  a  human  sacrifice 
in  this  instance,  but  rather  expressed  His  will  on  the  subject  by 
the  course  the  event  took.  In  the  earliest  times  God  taught 
men  mostly  by  acts.  By  this  trial  Abraham's  earthly  love  was 
to  be  mortified,  while  he  showed  that  he  loved  God  more  than 


122  GENESIS  XXII.  2-4. 

liis  son  (cf.  St  Luke  xiv.  26).  Such  a  love  to  God  could  never 
be  inculcated  by  mere  words. 

Human  sacrifices  are  throughout  the  whole  Old  Testament 
utterly  forbidden.  The  abomination  consisted  in  this, — that  the 
man  sacrificed  unwillingly  was  looked  on  merely  as  a  thing,  as 
an  instrument ;  and  such  sacrifices  were,  therefore,  only  possible 
among  the  heathen,  who  were  ignorant  that  man  was  made  in 
the  image  of  God.  They  regarded  man  as  a  mere  natural  thing. 
It  was  somewhat  different  in  those  few  cases  among  the  heathen, 
where  a  man  freely  died  as  a  sacrifice  and  atonement  for  others. 
Here  was  a  sort  of  foreshadowing  and  anticipation  of  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ,  who,  not  in  figure,  but  in  truth  and  reality,  bore  the 
sins  of  all.  In  like  manner,  the  self-denying  offering  up  of  his 
only  son,  in  honour  of  God  and  obedience  to  Him,  was  a  type 
of  that  act  of  God's  love,  "  who  spared  not  His  only  begotten 
Son,"  etc. :  Rom.  viii.  32.  The  same  place  where  afterwards 
the  Temple  stood,  and  the  Son  of  God  was  crucified,  was  the 
scene  of  the  most  sublime  act  in  Abraham's  life,  the  forerunner 
and  figure  of  all  after  sacrifices,  yea,  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ 
Himself. 

Ver.  2.  MoriaJi. — This  name  does  again  occur  as  indicating 
a  country,  but  only  is  used  to  denote  the  mountain  on  which 
Solomon  built  the  Temple,  2  Chron.  iii.  1 ;  which  place  was 
selected  for  that  purpose,  with  reference  to  the  event  of  this 
chapter.  The  name  signifies,  "  shown  by  Jehovah,"  in  allusion 
to  the  wonderful  way  in  which  the  ram  was  shown  by  the  angel, 
which  was  offered  in  the  stead  of  Isaac.  This  circumstance  was 
the  crisis  in  the  history  of  Abraham.  God  confirmed  His 
promise,  and  crowned  the  faith  of  Abraham.  From  the  fact, 
that  Moriah  afterwards  became  the  mountain  of  the  sanctuary,  the 
name  obtained  in  addition  a  particular  significance,  analogous 
to  its  former  meaning. 

Ver.  3.  Rose. — Abraham  obeyed  this  fearful  command  with 
the  same  punctual,  ready  promptness,  with  which  he  had  fol- 
lowed every  other  Divine  injunction. 

Ver.  4.  Afar  off. — It  was  about  thirty-two  miles  from  Beer- 
sheba ;  the  road  lay  through  a  mountainous  district.  The  par- 
ticular mountain  was  pointed  out  to  him  on  the  way  by  a  special 
revelation,  as  before  the  land  of  Canaan  had  been  made  known  : 
cli.  xii.  1. 


GENESIS  XXII.  5-24.  123 

Ver.  5.  uAgain. — This  may  be  eitlier  regarded  as  an  untruth 
into  which  Abraham  fell,  in  the  agitation  and  agony  of  the 
moment, — or  rather  (as  is  more  in  agi-eement  with  the  tone  of 
the  whole  narrative,  and  especially  ver.  8)  as  an  anticipation 
that  in  some  unknown  way  God  would  bring  about  their  return. 

Ver.  12.  Know. — God  knows:  He  only  learns  by  the  trial 
that  the  man  will  remain  faithful  to  Him, — without  the  trial  his 
faithfulness  is  not  made  apparent.  It  cannot  be  objected  against 
this,  and  similar  words  of  God,  that  He  knew  before,  since  He 
only  knew  before  so  far  as  He  foreknew  the  result  of  the  trial. 
But  the  trial  and  the  proof  must  necessarily  take  place,  since 
only  in  its  fulfilment  does  God  recognise  obedience,  faith,  and 
love  as  existing. 

Ver.  14.  Jehovah-jireh ;  i.e.,  "  the  Lord  careth  :"  His  provi- 
dential care  is  glorified  in  the  issue  of  the  temptation. 

Ver.  17.  Gate. — The  towns  being  included. 

Ver.  18.  Blessed. — This  promise  is  in  all  essential  points  the 
same  as  that  given  at  the  beginning,  ch.  xii.  1-3,  and  after- 
Avards  repeated.  What  God  had  at  the  outset  granted  out  of 
free  grace  alone,  and  unconditionally.  He  now  confirms  as  the 
reward  of  Abraham's  act  of  faith.  This  faith,  Avhich  He  had 
created,  fostered,  and  proved,  had  now  brought  forth  its  fruits. 
God  first  promises,  and  by  His  revelation  awakens  faith  in  the 
heart ;  He  then  crowns  with  reward  the  Avorks  of  this  faith, 
Avhich  is  the  result  of  His  grace. 

Ver.  20.  Nalior. — The  genealogy,  which  was  broken  off  at  ch. 
xi.  29,  is  here  resumed  as  preparatory  to  the  narrative  of  Isaac's 
marriage. 

Ver.  21.  IIuz. — Perhaps  the  land  of  Uz  on  the  other  side 
Jordan,  between  Palestine  and  Mesopotamia,  was  called  from  him : 
Job  i.  1.     Though  an  Uz  occurs,  ch.  x.  23,  and  ch.  xxxvi.  28. 

Ver.  23.  Rehekali. —Hch.  Ribkah. 

Ver.  24.  Concubine. — Together  with  one  or  more  wives,  a  man 
might  have,  according  to  the  custom  of  those  times,  a  concubine, 
taken  out  of  the  class  of  slaves.  Her  children  did  not  in  Abra- 
ham's case  rank  Avith  the  others,  though  in  Jacob's  they  did. 
It  Avas  a  kind  of  inferior  marriage.  The  concubine  Avas  bound 
to  be  faithful :  Judges  xix.  2.  Any  one  Avho  committed  adultery 
Avith  a  concubine  Avas  obliged  to  bring  a  trespass-offering  :  Lev. 
xix.  21.     According  to  Exod.  xxi.  9,  10,  a  father  was  to  treat 


124  GENESIS  XXTII.  2-16. 

the  concubine  of  his  son  "  after  the  manner  of  daughters ;"  and 
if  the  son  afterwards  contracted  a  regular  marriage,  he  was  to 
regard  her  for  the  future  as  a  concubine.  We  see  how  much 
there  was  allowable  in  the  O.  T,  by  reason  of  "hardness  of 
heart,"  which,  after  the  full  revelation  of  the  mystery  of  love  in 
redemption,  was  no  more  permitted. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Ver.  2.  Hebron. — First,  Kirjath-Arba,  afterwards  Hebron  : 
ch.  xiii.  18,  ch.  xiv.  3.  Abraham,  therefore,  was  once  more  a 
dweller  among  the  Canaanites.     Cf.  ch.  xxi.  34. 

Ver.  5.  Ansioered. — In  a  public,  solemn  assembly — a  general 
council  of  the  tribe.     So  ver.  7  and  12. 

Ver.  7.  Boiced. — The  customary  Eastern  mode  of  showing 
honour,  by  bowing  low  to  the  ground. 

Ver.  9.  Machpelah  means  "  a  doubling ;" — a  name  which 
the  cave  for  some  cause  bore. 

Ver.  15.  Hearken. — Literally,  "If  thou  wilt  only  hear  me." 
Abraham  could  not  receive  the  field  and  cave  as  a  gift,  since  the 
promise  was  present  in  his  mind  that  his  descendants  should 
possess  the  whole  land  and  destroy  the  inhabitants  thereof:  the 
sepulchre,  the  only  spot  which  he  possessed  in  the  land,  was  a 
memorial  of  his  belief  in  that  promise.  At  the  same  time  he  did 
not  choose  to  be  indebted  to  the  inhabitants  for  any  gift. 

Ver.  15.  What  is  that? — That  is,  "  We  both  are  rich  :  as  you 
desire  it,  pay  this  sum."  The  shekel  (schekel)  was  originally, 
and  here  particularly,  a  loeight,  not  a  coin,  as  afterwards  was  the 
case.  The  Jewish  historian,  Josephus,  reckons  its  value  at  four 
Attic  drachmee — about  two  shillings  of  our  money.  Probably  it 
was  not  quite  so  much.  But  no  inference  can  be  drawn  from 
later  times  as  to  its  value  in  earlier.  As  a  rule,  the  value  of 
money  decreases  with  time. 

Ver.  16.  Current. — Lit.,  "  which  would  pass  with  the  merchant," 
i.e.,  with  those  who  are  judges  of  its  fineness.  The  Phoenicians 
CCanaanites)  were  the  first  who,  in  consequence  of  their  ex- 
tended commerce,  made  use  of  silver  as  a  medium  of  inter- 
change. 


GENESIS  XXIII.  18  ;    XXIV.  2-12.  125 

Yer  18.  All. — Thus  the  whole  transaction,  which  was  an  act 
of  faith  on  the  part  of  Abraham,  and  carried  out  with  stedfast 
regard  to  the  covenant  of  promise,  became,  by  this  solemn 
aoreement  between  himself  and  the  Hethites,  well  known  among 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Ver  2.  Eldest. — This  is  generally  supposed  to  be  Eliezer  of 
Damascus  (xv.  2),  which  yet  is  scarcely  probable,  since  he  is 
not  mentioned  by  name.  If  indeed  it  were  he,  then  the  disin- 
terestedness of  Abraham's  pious  and  faithful  servant  appears 
the  more  conspicuous,  since  the  birth  of  Isaac  had  deprived  him 
of  the  hope  of  the  inheritance  :  see  ch.  xv.  2. 

Thigh. — A  custom  in  making  oath,  which  we  meet  with  only 
in  those  ancient  days. 

Ver.  4.  Wife. — This  purpose  on  the  part  of  Abraham  was  the 
result  of  his  living  faith  in  the  promise.  He  had  received  no 
Divine  revelation  on  this  matter,  and  therefore  could  not  be 
altoo-ether  certain,  though  he  micht  feel  the  strongest  conviction, 
that  God  would  bless  his  way  of  proceeding.  He  feared  lest 
Isaac  should  take  a  wife  from  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
idolatrous  land  of  Canaan,  which  was  doomed  to  destruction. 
He  therefore  made  his  choice  from  the  family  in  which  the 
worship  of  the  true  God  was  in  some  measure  kept  alive,  though 
not  altogether  in  perfect  purity. 

Ver.  10.  Mesoijotamia. — Heb.:  "  Aram  Neharnjim," /.«.,  Syria 
of  the  two  rivers,  the  land  between  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  par- 
ticularly the  north  part  of  it,  now  called  "  Aldscheschirah." 

Nahor.—lliiVAW,  ch.  xi.  31,  27,  32. 

Ver.  12.  Day. — Heb.  :  "Make  to-day  come  before  my  face," 
— viz.,  her  whom  I  seek.  In  a  journe}'  which  was  undertaken 
in  accordance  Avitli  God's  will,  and  at  the  command  of  His  pro- 
phet, such  a  sign  might  lawfully  be  asked.  But  while  he  actu- 
ally anticipates  the  fulfilment  of  his  desire,  he  does  not  blindly 
follow  the  first  impulse  (ver.  21),  but  puts  to  the  proof  all  the 
circumstances.     The    sign   which   he    prays   for   is   an    act   of 


126  GENESIS  XXIV.  15-64. 

humane,  considerate  attention  on  the  part  of  the  damsel,  by 
which  her  good  pious  disposition  may  be  in  a  degree  tested. 
None  other  than  one  so  disposed,  he  trusted,  would  God  destine 
to  be  the  wife  of  his  master's  son. 

Ver.  15.  Shoulder. — To  this  day  in  the  same  countries  the 
daughters  of  the  Arab  sheiks  fetch  water  from  the  wells,  which 
are  meeting-places  for  the  damsels.  Niebuhr  says  (ii.  410), 
"  We  found  on  this  way  between  Orfa  and  Bu  different  wells, 
at  which  the  maidens  from  the  neighbouring  villages,  or  from 
the  tribes  of  the  Curds  and  Turcmans,  watered  their  cattle.  They 
did  not  wear  veils  as  they  do  in  the  towns.  As  soon  as  we  had 
saluted  them,  and  dismounted  from  our  horses,  they  brought  us 
water,  and  also  watered  our  horses.  I  could  not  but  be  struck 
with  this  circumstance,  since  it  was  in  these  very  regions  that 
Rebecca  performed  the  same  kind  office.  Perhaps  at  that  mo- 
ment we  were  drinking  from  the  very  same  well  out  of  which 
she  drew  water." 

Ver.  22.  Ear-ring. — Heb.,  a  nose  ring,  such  as  the  women  in 
the  East  still  wear.  They  are  often  of  a  great  weight  and  size, 
and  hang  down  below  the  mouth :  cf.  Ezek.  xvi.  12. 

Ver.  30.  Well. — This  is  the  cause  why  Laban  ran  out  (ver. 
29),  as  it  is  repeated  here. 

Ver.  47.  Face. — The  ring  in  her  nose. 

Ver.  50.  Bethuel. — In  those  ancient  days  the  brothers  appeared 
to  have  had  even  a  stronger  right  of  protection  and  care  over 
their  sisters  than  the  fathers  over  their  daughters  (cf.  ver.  53,  ch. 
xxxiv.  13).  There  are  still  traces  among  the  Arabs  of  this  cus- 
tom. Probably  the  reason  lay  in  the  allowance  of  polygamy, 
which  gave  rise  to  the  fear  that  occasionally  the  father  might 
be  induced,  by  his  preference  for  a  particular  wife,  to  act  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  daughters:  cf.  ch.  xxxiv.  7,  etc. 

Good;  i.e.,  We  can  say  neither  yes  or  no;  we  must  obey. 
They  speak  of  the  Lord-Jehovah,  whom  they  still  reverenced, 
even  though  in  their  worship  there  was  a  mixture  of  idolatry : 
ch.  xxxi.  19. 

Ver.  59.  Nurse. — Nurses  in  eastern  countries  are  accustomed 
to  accompany  ladies  of  distinction,  and  are  held  in  great  esteem 
by  th«m. 

Ver.  64.  AligJded. — She  threw  herself  down  to  pay  reverence  : 
2  Kings  V.  21. 


GENESIS  XXIV.  C5,  67;  XXV.  4-19.  127 

Ver.  65.  Covered. — Before  marriage  the  bridegroom  never 
saw  the  bride  except  veiled  :   eh.  xxix.  25. 

Ver.  67.  Te^it. — Sarah  had  during  her  Hfetime  a  particular 
tent  assigned  her,  of  which  Rebecca  now  took  possession. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Ver.  4,  Keturah. — All  these  are  progenitors  of  the  Arabian 
tribes,  but  are  for  the  most  part  entirely  unknown.  The  best 
known  among  them  are  the  Midianites  (ver.  2),  on  the  east  of 
the  Gulf  of  Elan,  a  trading  people  (ch.  xxxvii.  28),  often  in 
after  times  engaged  in  war  with  Israel  (see  particularly  Judges 
viii.).  In  the  time  of  the  Kings  they  altogether  disappeared  from 
history. — Shuah  is  the  native  country  of  Bildad,  the  friend  of  Job. 

Ver.  6.  East. — See  note,  ch.  xxii.  24. 

Ver.  18.  Havilah,  probably  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Arabian  Gulf. 

Died. — The  margin  gives  "  fell,"  which  seems  the  more  correct 
version.  The  meaning  is  then — "  His  lot  fell  to  him  eastward 
of  all  his  brethren  : "  cf.  ch.  xvi.  12,  note :  see  also  the  version 
of  the  Septuagint,  koctcc  TrpoawTrov  Trdvrm  tojv  ccbi\(pcov  uvtov 
KocroiJKri(rz,  i.e.,  he  dwelt  in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren. 

Ver.  19.  Generations  of  Isaac. — A  fresh  era  here  commences 
in  the  history  of  the  patriarchs.  God  first  separated  Abraham 
from  his  father's  house,  and  made  a  covenant  of  grace  with  him  : 
next.  He  distinguishes  between  the  son  of  promise  and  "him 
born  after  the  flesh :"  now  He  chooses  one  of  the  twin  sons  of 
Isaac,  the  youngest,  to  be  the  heir  of  promise. 

That  which  was  determined,  nay,  declared,  concerning  these 
two  sons  before  they  were  born,  is  verified  as  they  grow  up.  In 
the  one  case,  that  of  the  younger,  the  work  of  grace  proceeds 
notwithstanding  his  great  faults  ;  in  the  other  case,  his  rejection 
is  justified  as  the  punishment  of  an  irreligious,  carnal  mind.  We 
cannot  help  remarking  in  all  this  narrative  of  Esau  and  Jacob, 
how  fairly  the  good  qualities  of  the  rejected  son,  and  the  sins 
against  his  brother  of  the  great  ancestor  of  the  Israelites,  toge- 
ther with  God's  chastisements,  are  recorded. 


128  GENESIS  XXV.  20-2G. 

Jacob  and  Rebecca  seize  by  unjust  means  on  tlie  Blessing, 
which  would  in  God's  own  way,  and  innocently,  have  been  theirs. 
Esau  shows  himself  unworthy  of  the  Blessing  by  the  light  way 
in  which  he  parted  with  the  birthright.  Jacob  had  faith  to 
value  it. 

Ver.  20.  Syrian. — Heb.  "  Aramaite." 

Padan-Aram ;  i.e.,  of  the  plain  country  of  Aram,  the  level 
land  of  Syria,  in  opposition  to  the  mountainous  Syria,  the  region 
of  Lebanon. 

Lahan, — This  is  especially  mentioned  on  account  of  the  fol- 
lowing narrative,  in  which  Laban  plays  a  conspicuous  part. 

Ver.  21.  Conceived. — The  birth  of  many  remarkable  men  is 
preceded  by  a  long  period  of  barrenness  :  such  was  the  case 
with  Isaac,  Samson,  Samuel,  John  Baptist.  Not  only  did  God 
purpose  thei'eby  that  the  affection  of  the  parents  should  be 
directed  towards  the  child,  and  that  his  conduct  should  become 
a  particular  object  of  their  observation ;  but,  above  all,  that  he 
should  be  regarded  as  a  supernatural  gift  of  God,  and  thereby 
a  type  of  the  birth  of  the  Saviour  from  a  virgin. 

Ver.  22.  Inquire. — She  begged  in  prayer  for  an  answer  from 
God  in  a  vision.  The  struggling  of  the  children  appeared  to 
her  to  forebode  the  strife  which  should  exist  between  the  two. 

Ver.  23.  Younger. — The  Lord  tells  her  that  the  omen  pre- 
sages not  merely  the  fate  of  the  children,  but  likewise  of  the 
two  peoj)le  which  should  descend  from  them.  Two  struggling 
people  are  there  represented,  of  whom  the  weaker  shall  be 
served  by  the  stronger,  in  the  same  way  as,  of  her  sons,  the 
younger  was  destined  to  obtain  the  privileges,  the  rank,  the 
dominion,  and  the  larger  inheritance,  which  originally  belonged 
to  the  elder.  A  prophetic  enigma  is  here  shown  to  Rebecca,  in 
which  is  portrayed  the  whole  nature  of  God's  kingdom  on 
earth.  The  words,  "  The  elder  shall  serve  the  younger,"  relate 
likewise  to  the  people :  so  that  the  forefathers  are  only  regarded 
in  reference  to  their  descendants,  with  whom  they  are  viewed  as 
one.  In  the  case  of  the  two  brothers  the  prophecy  was  not  ful- 
filled: cf.  xxvii.  27. 

Ver.  25.  Esau  signifies  "the  hairy." 

Ver.  26.  Jacob. — The  children  quickly  follow  each  other  :  the 
voun^er  puts  his  hand  above  his  head,  and  lays  hold  on  the  heel 
of  the  elder  (Jacob  signifies  "  a  holder  of  the  heel").    In  this  we 


GENESIS  XXV.  27-32.  129 

liave  an  emblem  of  his  crafty  character,  as  of  a  person  -who 
comes  behind  another  to  trip  up  his  heels. 

Threescore. — Fifteen  years  before  Abraham's  death,  vor.  7. 

Ver.  27.  Field. — i.e.,  Not  one  who  cultivated  the  field,  but 
roved  about,  in  opposition  to  the  quiet  life  of  a  herdsman. 

Tents. — Those  of  the  herdsmen.  The  word  "plain  man" 
means  in  the  Heb.  "  perfect."  Jacob's  character  and  conduct 
appear  scarcely  to  answer  to  this  description  ;  but  we  must  bear 
in  mind  that  the  word  more  particularly  has  reference  to  his  re- 
lation with  God.  In  the  more  simple,  quiet  life  of  a  herdsman, 
he  walks  before  God,  and  lives  in  His  service  and  in  faitli  on 
His  promises  ;  while  Esau,  in  his  wild  hunter's  life,  cared  only  for 
this  world. 

Ver.  28.  Venison. — Literally,  "  And  his  venison  was  in  his 
mouth."  Isaac's  temperament  began  to  resemble  Esau's  through 
the  weakness  of  age. 

Ver.  30.  Red.—hh.,  "  Of  the  red— of  this  red."  He  re- 
peats the  words  in  his  eagerness.  As  these  words  were  spoken 
on  so  remarkable  an  occasion,  the  term  "  red"  clung  to  him, 
particularly  as  it  was  at  the  same  time  applicable  to  the  colour 
of  his  hair  (ver.  25).  We  learn  in  a  subsequent  verse  that  it  was 
a  pottage  of  lentils,  a  dish  very  much  esteemed  in  the  East  to 
this  day.  The  Avord  "  red"  in  the  Hebrew  often  denotes  a 
brown,  yellowish  colour. 

Ver.  31.  Birthright. — Jacob's  good  object  cannot  justify  his 
conduct  in  taking  advantage  of  Esau's  weariness  to  extract  this 
condition.  Rather,  he  hereby  confirmed  his  name  "  Supplanter," 
which  was  afterwards  taken  from  him  when  his  character  was 
completely  changed,  clu  xxxii.  28. 

Ver.  32.  Profit. — The  promise  whicli  belonged  to  the  first- 
born had  as  its  object  the  spiritual  and  the  eternal.  The  bless- 
ing which  rested  thereon  was  emphatically  a  spiritual  blessing, 
that  through  Abraham's  posterity  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
the  true  God  should  be  spread  on  earth.  As  a  coarse,  earthly- 
minded  man,  Esau  thinks  only  of  himself,  and  the  short  space  of 
his  life  on  earth.  Perhaps,  too,  he  might  have  in  view  the  dangers 
to  which  his  hunter's  life  exposed  him.  Such  a  man  would 
scarcely  hesitate  to  sacrifice  the  holy  privilege  of  the  first-born 
for  the  sake  of  a  momentary  gratification.  Thus  is  he  a  repre- 
sentative of  all  those  who,  for  the  lust  of  the  eye  and  the  lust  of 

I 


130  GENESIS  XXV.  34  ;   XXVI.  2-25. 

the  flesh,  sacrifice  their  sonship  to  God  and  eternal  life  :  Heb. 
xii.  16. 

Ver.  34.  Went  his  ivay — as  though  nothing  of  consequence 
had  taken  place. 

Birthright. — So  that  it  was  afterwards  with  justice  taken  from 
him. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

Ver.  2.  Tell. — A  journey  into  Egypt  in  time  of  famine  was 
accompanied  with  danger  in  the  case  of  the  patriarchs,  as  they 
might  be  tempted  to  remain  in  the  rich  pasture  lands  of  that 
country,  and  to  forget  the  Land  of  Promise.  In  this  respect 
Isaac,  a  man  of  weaker  faitli  than  Abraham,  was  in  greater 
danger  than  he.  Only  under  the  plain  guidance  of  Divine  Pro- 
vidence was  a  stay  in  Egypt  permitted  to  the  chosen  people. 

Ver.  5.  Laws. — Here  again  is  the  promise,  which  was  in  the 
first  instance  given  out  of  free  grace,  again  ratified  for  the  sake 
of  Abraham  and  his  obedience,  since  God  is  pleased  to  reward 
that  which  He  works  in  a  man  by  His  prevenient  grace. 

Ver.  8.  Ahimelech. — Abimelech  appears  to  have  been  a  royal 
name  common  to  the  kings  of  the  Philistines,  as  Phichol  (ver.  26), 
the  title  of  an  ofiicer.  This  history,  therefore,  speaks  of  another 
king  than  that  mentioned,  ch.  xx.  Isaac's  weakness  of  faith 
(especially  after  the  similar  histories,  cf.  ch.  xii.  and  xx.)  is  very 
remarkable  ;  yet  the  same  Divine  preservation  is  accorded  him. 
Weak  as  Isaac's  conduct  is,  nevertheless  God's  blessing  on  him 
was  so  conspicuous,  that  he  is  honoured  by  the  Philistines  as  his 
father. 

Ver.  12.  Hundredfold. — Examples  of  an  extraordinary  fruit- 
fulness  in  the  East  are  here  and  there  recorded;  but  in  the 
present  instance  such  return  was  the  consequence  of  an  especial 
blessing. 

Ver.  25.  Called. — Cf.  ch.  iv.  26,  note.  In  this  place,  which 
had  already  become  of  note  in  Abraham's  lifetime,  the  Lord  re- 
newed to  him  the  assurance  of  His  grace,  as  He  did  afterwards 
to  Jacob  (ch.  xlvi.  1).  By  the  sanctification  of  particular  places 
the  Lord  coiidescended  to  the  wants  of  the  patriarchs. 


GENESIS  XXVI.  35  ;   XXVII.  4,  13.  131 

Ver.  35.  Grief. — Esau  declares  his  rude,  undisciplined  cha- 
racter, his  ahenation  from  God,  and  his  contempt  for  the  grace 
and  blessings  which  belonged  to  his  family,  by  taking  two 
Canaanitish  women  for  his  wiv'es.  He  was  already  a  heathen, 
even  before  his  actual  sepai'ation  from  the  line  to  which  the 
blessing  belonged.  Between  this  marriage  of  Esau,  and  the 
history  in  the  next  chapter,  there  intervenes  a  space  of  thirty- 
seven  years,  as  may  be  gathered  by  a  collation  of  the  statements 
of  time  given. 


CHAPTER  XXVII.  * 

Ver.  4.  Love. — In  itself,  there  was  nothing  sinful  in  this  con- 
duct of  Isaac.  The  trait  is  characteristic  of  the  childlike  sim- 
plicity of  the  patriarchs  :  but  the  sin  which  was  connected  wnth 
this  request  of  Isaac,  consisted  in  his  partiality  for  Esau. 

Die. — Isaac's  faith  was  much  darkened.  He  had  a  general 
conviction  that  he  was  divinely  commissioned  to  bless  the  heir 
of  promise ;  and  it  is  said  of  him,  that  "  by  faith  he  blessed 
Jacob  and  Esau  concerning  things  to  come"  (Heb.  xi.  20)  ;  but 
his  love  for  his  eldest  son  hurries  him  into  disobedience  against 
the  Divine  command. 

Ver.  13.  Upon  me. — Her  faith  is  quite  firm  as  to  the  issue. 
Her  heart  was  directed  towards  God,  though  she  made  use  of 
sinful  means  to  effect  her  jnu'pose.  "  Much  as  her  deceit  dis- 
honoured God's  prophecy,  still,  in  the  history,  her  distinguished 
faith  shines  forth.  The  anger  of  her  husband,  the  hatred  of 
Isaac  against  Jacob,  the  danger  to  the  hfe  of  her  beloved  son, 
did  not  deter  liei',  because  the  inheritance  promised  by  God 
was  before  her  eyes ;  and  she  knew  that  God  had  designed  it 
for  Jacob." — Calvin.  In  reading  this  history,  we  must  ever  bear 
in  mind,  that  the  after  account  of  Jacob's  life  shows  us  how 
severely  he  was  punished  for  it.  Rebecca  lost  her  son  during 
twenty  years ;  and  Jacob,  instead  of  being  lord  in  his  father's 
house,  is  forced  to  flee  into  a  strange  land,  where  in  many  ways 
a  I'ctribution  is  inflicted  on  him  for  his  deceitful  conduct  towards 
his  father  and  brother.  Thus  does  Scripture  pronounce  judg- 
ment on  his  sin. 


132  GENESIS  XXVII.  15-37. 

Ver.  15.  Clothes. — Isaac  was  not  totally  blind ;  so  that  he 
might  be  able  to  recognise  the  dress,  if  not  the  countenance  of 
his  sons. 

Ver.  16.  Goats. — The  hair  of  the  goats  in  the  East,  we  must 
remember,  is  much  finer  than  with  us. 

Ver.  29.  Blesseth, — Isaac  appears  here  to  promise  only  earthly 
things  to  his  sons — rich  harvests,  peace,  honour  from  others :  no 
mention  occurs  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  This  was  so,  because 
God  did  not  give  to  the  fathers  the  promise  of  a  future  inheritance 
in  a  naked  manner,  and  as  their  immediate  object,  but  conducted 
them  thitherward  by  byepaths.  For  this  cause.  He  willed  that 
the  land  of  Canaan  should  be  a  mirror  and  pledge  of  the 
heavenly  inheritance.  In  all  His  benefits  He  gave  them  proofs 
of  His  fatherly  love,  not  that  they  might  be  satisfied  with  the 
earthly  advantages  and  forget  the  heavenly,  but  that  they  might 
gradually  rise  up  to  heaven,  supported  by  such  stays  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  times  in  which  they  lived,  were  necessary  for  them. 
For,  since  Christ,  the  first  fruits  of  the  resurrection,  the  hope  of 
an  eternal,  imperishable  life,  had  not  yet  appeared,  His  king- 
dom remained  shadowed  forth  in  type  and  figure  until  "  the 
fulness  of  time  was  come." — Calvin.  This  promise  (as  was  the 
case  with  most  of  them)  is  at  first  annexed  to  things  seen  and 
present ;  hence  it  rises  to  the  unseen  future.  The  summit  and 
the  centre  of  the  blessing  is  contained  in  the  words,  "  Be  lord 
over  thy  brethren  ;"  since  thereby  was  signified  that  he  alone 
was  bearer  of  the  blessing, — the  others  only  shared  the  advantage 
through  him.  The  lordship  over  his  whole  race  ("  brethren,"  of 
whom,  properly,  Jacob  had  only  one,  mean  here,  as  often  else- 
where, all  the  relations  by  blood)  consisted,  externally,  in  the 
dominion  which  the  Israelites  exercised,  in  a  great  measure,  over 
those  descended  fi*om  Esau,  but  spiritually  in  the  rule  of  the 
Messiah,  which  should  last  for  ever. 

Ver.  36.  Jacob. — Literally,  "  How  that  his  name  is  called 
'  Supplanter  T  and  he  has  now  twice  supplanted  me." 

Blessing. — Esau,  in  his  mind,  separated  the  two.  He  sup- 
posed that,  after  the  loss  of  the  birthright,  he  could  by  his  father's 
blessing  supply  all  that  was  essential.  He  only  thought  of  the 
earthly,  carnal  blessing ;  but  he  had  lost  it  altogether. 

Ver.  37.  What. — These  words  show  (as  ver.  33)  clearly  what 
was  Isaac's  position  in  reference  to  the  blessing  he  pronounced. 


GENESIS  XXVII.  38,  89.  133 

He  was  but  an  involuntary  instrument  in  the  liand  of  the 
Almighty  and  Omniscient.  Pie  it  was  who  blessed,  and  there- 
fore deceit  was  impossible.  Though  Jacob  had  imposed  on  his 
father,  yet  was  God's  will  fulfilled,  which  had  so  overruled  the 
matter.  Had  the  transaction  occurred  in  a  question  of  right 
among  men,  the  whole  would  have  been  invalid.  This  could 
not  be  the  case  here,  where  God's  providence  acted.  At  the 
same  time,  we  clearly  see  how,  with  all  his  weakness,  a  living 
faith  in  God's  presence  and  power  filled  Isaac  in  reference  to 
the  blessing  :  Heb.  xi.  20. 

Ver.  38.  Wept. — Esau  could  not  prevail  on  his  father  to  make 
any  change,  though  he  sought  it  with  tears  (Heb.  xii.  17).  He 
had  once  despised  that  which  now  he  only  sought  on  account  of 
its  temporal  advantages, — an  image  of  the  too  late  and  hypocritical 
repentance  of  those  who  bewail,  not  so  much  their  conduct,  as 
the  consequences  of  it. 

Ver.  39.  Dew  of  heaven. — The  dwelling  of  the  Edomites,  the 
descendants  of  Esau,  was  Mt.  Seir  (pronounce  Se-ir,  with  the 
accent  on  the  last  syllable),  on  the  south  side  of  the  Dead  Sea 
(Joshua  xi.  17,  xii.  7),  a  district  stretching  to  the  ^^^]lanitic  Gulf 
of  the  Red  Sea — a  rocky  district,  which  is  barren  towards  the 
north ;  but  contains  even  now  some  fertile  mountain  country 
— once  flourishing  communities.  Its  chief  town  was  Selah  ("  a 
rock,"  2  Kings  xiv.  7  ;  afterwards  called  "  Petra,"  a  great  town, 
which  gave  the  name  to  Arabia  Petrsea),  which  has  astonished 
modern  travellers  by  its  magnificent  ruins.  It  was  destroyed  by 
the  Roman  Emperor  Trajan.  In  its  neighbourhood  are,  even 
to  this  day,  "  the  ridges  of  the  mountains  covered  with  corn- 
fields and  fruit-gardens." — Burckhardt,  ii.  702.  The  northern 
part  of  Seir  is  now  called  Dschebal  (by  the  ancients,  Gebalene)  ; 
the  southern  part,  Dschebel  Schera.  This  mountainous  region 
is  intersected  with  innumerable  rivulets,  and  is  on  the  western 
side  very  steep.  It  extends  from  the  Dead  Sea  in  a  westerly 
direction,  close  by  the  vast  waste  Wady  El  Arabah,  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  broad  deep  valley  in  which  are  the  northern 
lakes  of  Palestine,  the  Jordan,  and  the  Dead  Sea.  Eastward  it 
stretches  gradually  into  the  Arabian  Desert.  Towards  the  Red 
Sea  the  heights  decrease.  "  The  character  of  these  mountains 
is  altogether  different  from  those  in  Arabah  to  the  west.  The 
latter,  which  do  not  appear  more  than  two-thirds  as  high,  are 


134  GENESIS  XXVII.  40. 

altogether  waste  and  barren;  while  those  to  the  east  rejoice  in 
an  abundance  of  rain,  and  are  covered  with  trees  and  shrubs. 
The  Wadys  (beds  of  rivers — valleys)  abound  also  in  trees  and 
shrubs ;  while  the  eastern  and  higher  districts  are  partly  culti- 
vated, and  produce  good  crops.  The  general  aspect  of  the  land 
is  not  unlike  that  of  Plebron,  though  the  form  of  the  country  is 
very  different." — Robinson,  iii.  103.  We  gather,  accordingly, 
that  this  country  had  not  the  same  measure  of  fertility  as 
Canaan  ;  yet  might  it  literally  be  described  in  this  place,  by 
Isaac,  "  Of  the  fatness  of  the  earth  shall  be  tliy  dwelling,  and  of 
the  dew  of  heaven  from  above ;"  especially  might  it  be  pro- 
nounced "  fruitful,"  when  we  think  of  the  contrast  of  the  vast 
neighbouring  Arabian  Desert.  The  earthly  portion  of  the 
blessing  approaches  very  nearly  that  of  Jacob ;  and  it  is  quite  a 
mistake  to  suppose,  that  here  is  to  be  understood  a  play  on  the 
words,  a  contrast  to  what  was  promised,  ver.  27,  as  if  Isaac  had 
said,  "  (Far)  from  the  fatness  of  the  earth  shall  be  thy  dwelling, 
and  from  the  dew  of  heaven."  According  to  that,  a  wilderness 
would  be  declared  to  be  his  dwelling,  as  in  the  case  of  Ishmael, 
eh.  xxi.  20,  21 ;  but  this  is  contrary  to  the  language,  to  history, 
and  to  geography. 

Ver.  40.  Nech. — In  all  times  the  Edomites  appear  to  have 
been  a  warlike,  if  not  a  powerful,  people.  Their  land  possessed 
a  strong  town  as  its  capital,  Selah,  which  was  defended  by  its 
almost  impregnable  position,  and  could  be  approached  only  by 
narrow  passes.  At  first,  and  for  a  long  time,  the  Edomites 
remained  independent ;  then  Saul  subdued  them  (1  Sam.  xiv.  47); 
David  made  them  subject  (2  Sam.  viii.  14)  ;  Solomon  "  made 
a  navy  of  ships  in  Ezion-Geber,"  the  harbour  of  Edomites,  "  on 
the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea"  (1  Kings  ix.  26) ;  and  in  still  later 
times  were  they  under  the  dominion  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah 
(2  Kings  iii.).  They  revolted  against  Joram  (2  Kings  viii.  20, 
etc.).  Amaziah  smote  them  and  took  Selah  (2  Kino-s  xiv.  7). 
Uzziah  also  defeated  them  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  2) ;  but  under  Ahaz 
they  made  themselves  independent  (2  Chron.  xxviii.  17).  After 
they  had  been  subjected  to  the  Chaldeans,  Persians,  Greek- 
Syrians,  they  pushed  as  far  as  Hebron  in  Canaan,  and  possessed 
it  (1  Mace.  V.  65)  ;  so  that  the  whole  southern  part  of  Palestine 
was  named  Iduma^a  after  them.  In  later  times  (about  100  B.C.) 
the  Maccabee  prince,  John  Hyrcanus,  entirely  subdued  them, 


GENESIS  XXVII.  41,  4G  ;    XXVIII.  3-9.  135 

and  compelled  them  to  receive  circumcision :  since  which  time 
they  formed  one  people  with  the  Jews,  so  much  so,  that  even  an 
Idumgean,  Antipater,  and  iiis  son,  Herod  the  Great,  reigned  in 
Juda?a.  However,  even  then  a  national  hatred  against  them 
continued  among  the  Jew\s ;  and  in  the  last  Jewish  war,  the 
mixture  of  the  Edomites  served  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  the 
misery  of  the  Jews  in  the  siege  and  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
The  last  part  of  the  prophecy  is  literally,  in  the  Heb.,  "  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  as  thou  wild  wanderest  about  (revoltest), 
thou  shalt  tear  his  yoke  from  thy  neck." 

Ver.  41.  Slay. — This  trait  clearly  represents  to  us  the  disposi- 
tion of  Esau ;  but  his  worst  characteristic  was  not  so  much  his 
fierce  thirst  for  revenge,  as  his  entire  want  of  faith  in  God,  and 
his  determined  want  of  submission  to  Him.  Although  Isaac,  in 
his  weak  affection  for  his  eldest  son,  had  wished  to  favour  Esau, 
contrary  to  God's  will,  nevertheless,  v/hen  God  had  decided,  he 
unhesitatingly  submitted,  nay,  in  wdiat  follows,  acknowledges 
Jacob's  pre-eminence.  But  Esau  does  not  seek  to  learn  anything 
of  God's  purpose  in  the  matter:  he  only  thinks  of  Jacob's  deceit, 
and  the  consequences  which  will  follow  to  himself.  He  seeks  to 
avert  these  by  the  murder  of  his  brother,  by  which  means  he 
would  at  the  same  time  revenge  himself  on  his  mother  for  what 
she  had  done.  He  thus  trode  altogether  in  Cain's  footsteps ;  and, 
without  Rebecca's  prudence  and  Isaac's  obedience,  would  have 
followed  them  out  to  a  like  issue. 

Ver.  46.  Jacob. — Rebecca  does  not  think  it  as  yet  possible 
that  Jacob  will  proceed  under  the  guidance  of  his  father's 
blessing ;  but  her  faith  and  Jacob's  are  unexpectedly  rewarded. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Ver.  3.  Bless. — This  blessing  is  a  further  confirmation  and 
ratification  of  that  already  imparted.  It  is  designed  to  strengthen 
his  faith  on  his  journey,  and  on  his  marriage. 

Ver.  5.  Syrian. — "  The  Aramaite,"  as  always. 

Ver.  9.  Mahalath. — In  this  act  Esau  continues  true  to  his 
character.    On  the  one  side,  he  manifests  therein  a  certain  kind- 


136  GENESIS  XXVIII.  10-16. 

ness  of  disposition  in  consulting  the  wishes  of  his  parents ;  on 
the  other  hand,  even  more,  a  certain  wilfulness  which  is  de- 
termined to  get  back  outwardly  the  inheritance  which  he  has 
forfeited  and  despised,  together  with  the  blind  infatuation  of  un- 
belief, which  prompts  him  to  many  among  the  daughters  of 
Ishmael,  who  in  character  were  congenial  to  himself.  He  is  the 
image  of  a  man  who  is  determined  to  coiTect  his  false  steps  by 
his  own  strength;  and,  accordingly,  attempts  it  in  a  wrong 
temper. 

Ver.  10.  Haran. — Altogether  alone ;  not  with  tents  and  ser- 
vants in  a  caravan,  probably  by  reason  of  the  secrecy  and  hurry 
of  his  flight.  Very  differently  did  he  leave  his  home  from  Abra- 
ham's servant !     He  carried  no  presents  for  the  bride. 

Ver.  12.  Angels. — Elsewhere  the  angels  appear  suddenly  (ch. 
xviii.  2),  and  vanish  (Judges  vi.  21).  Isaiah  sees  the  angels 
hover  with  six  wings  (Isa.  vi.  2).  Here  they  are  displayed  more 
visibly  to  Jacob,  on  account  of  the  emblematic  character  of  the 
vision.  By  this  it  was  certified  to  the  patriarch—"  Here,  where 
thy  head  lies, — here  is  the  point  to  which  God  sends  His  angels, 
in  order  to  perform  His  commands  concerning  thee,  and  to  hear 
what  thou  desirest :"  an  image  of  God's  gracious,  particular, 
unceasing  providence  over  His  servant. 

Ver.  14.  Blessed. — God  repeats  to  Jacob  the  solemn  promises 
which  he  had  made  to  Abraham  (ch.  xii.  2,  3,  ch.  xiii.  14—16, 
ch.  XV.  18).  Such  a  reiteration  places  the  forsaken  fugitive  in 
the  same  relation  to  Himself  as  Abraham,  the  highly-favom'ed 
"  friend  of  God." 

Ver.  15.  Spoken. — The  lonely  deserted  fugitive  was  designed 
to  become  the  father  of  the  vast  host  of  the  chikken  of  the 
covenant :  and  it  came  to  pass.  How  important  and  necessary, 
therefore,  was  this  word  of  promise  ! 

Ver.  16.  Knew. — Jacob  well  knew  that  heaven  and  earth 
belonged  to  God,  and  that  He  is  "  the  Almighty ;"  but  that 
He  should  appear,  of  His  gracious  condescension  and  mercy, 
anywhere  except  in  places  consecrated  to  Him,  this  was  new  to 
Jacob,  as  he  had  not  as  yet  been  favoured  with  any  manifes- 
tation of  God.  It  is,  therefore,  no  narrow  unworthy  notion  of 
God,  but  the  want  of  a  certain  revelation  from  God  to  himself, 
which  made  him  cling  to  the  signs  and  covenanted  promises 
which  God  Himself  had  given.     Jacob,  at  the  bottom  of  his 


GENESIS  XXVIir.  17-20.  137 

heart,  clave  unto  God,  and  sought  His  promises  even  by  dis- 
honest means.  He  was  a  yielding  character,  not  formed  to 
encounter  great  dangers  and  labours,  but  open  to  religious  im- 
pressions. To  strengthen  him  at  this  time  against  yielding  to 
the  feeling  of  being  forsaken  by  God,  it  was  necessary  to  com- 
fort him  with  the  assurance  of  God's  help,  and  of  the  continuance 
of  His  covenant  of  grace.  By  a  wonderful  representation,  God 
showed  Ilis  unseen  but  continual  communion  with  His  servants, 
whom  He  ever  accompanies  on  their  way,  and  to  whom  He 
sends  His  ministering  spirits.  The  full  reality  of  this  type  has 
been  vouchsafed  to  all  believers  through  the  redemption  of 
Christ :  St  John  i.  51. 

Ver.  17.  Dreadful. — The  ancient  Church  called  the  Holy 
Eucharist  "  a  fearful  mystery,"  "  sacramentum  ti'emendum." 
Although  the  vision  was  most  loving  and  comforting,  still  God 
mingles  with  such  revelations  a  holy  dread,  which  keeps  the 
sinner  in  deep  awe  before  Him,  and  makes  the  gifts  and  promises 
of  Plis  grace  so  much  the  sweeter. 

Ver.  18.  Pillar. — The  heathens  also  were  accustomed,  in  old 
times,  to  commemorate  Divine  appearances  after  a  like  manner. 
Cf  also  Exod.  xxiv.  4. 

Oil,  which  in  hot  countries  is  needful  for  the  health  of  the 
body,  for  food,  for  light  among  all  people,  is  the  ancient  emblem 
of  the  refreshing  and  renewing  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  so 
is  the  means  by  which  everything  was  consecrated  to  God.  In 
after  times  both  men  and  vessels  of  worship  were  anointed  with  it. 

Ver.  19.  Bethel, — "  House  of  God."  House,  in  the  wider  signi- 
fication of  place,  as  sometimes  every  place  of  residence  or  rest  is 
so  called.  Afterwards  the  town  of  Luz,  which  was  in  existence 
even  then,  received  its  name  from  this  holy  spot.  Later  on, 
God  confirmed  the  promise  here  given,  and  the  name  of  the 
])lace  was  renewed  on  this  fresh  occasion:  ch.  xxxi.  13,  ch. 
XXXV.  15. 

Ver.  20.  Voio. — The  vow  which  Jacob  here  made  was  founded 
entirely  on  the  promise  given  to  him,  and  served  to  strengthen 
his  gratitude,  faith,  and  obedience.  In  a  similar  manner,  under 
the  law,  men  vowed  and  offered  sacrifices.  Such  vows  belonged 
to  the  time  when  men  were  "under  tutors  and  governors"  (Gal. 
iv.  2).  Inasmuch,  however,  as  such  outward  expressions  of  thank- 
fulness serve  to  keep  alive  the  good  resolutions  of  amendment 


138  GENESIS  XXVIII.  21,  22. 

and  change,  made  often  in  sorrow,  forgotten  In  the  release  from 
it,  they  are  wholesome  reminiscences  for  all  times.  "  Some 
go  too  flir,  who  wonld  condemn  all  vows  in  order  to  close  the 
door  against  superstition.  But  though  the  presumption  of  those 
who  indiscriminately  make  vows  Is  blameable,  still  we  must,  on 
the  other  hand,  take  care  lest  we  condemn  them  altogether.  In 
order  to  constitute  a  lawful  a^ow,  first,  the  object  must  be  well- 
pleasing  to  God ;  next,  we  must  not  vow  anything  but  what 
God  esteems  good ;  and,  lastly,  what  He  permltteth  us  to  vow. 
Therefore,  here  Jacob's  object  was  only  to  testify  his  gratitude 
to  God.  He  promises  to  render  to  God  the  service  due  to  Him ; 
and,  lastly,  he  does  not  presumptuously  vow  more  than  was 
given  him,  but  only  the  tithe  of  his  goods  for  a  holy  offering." — 
Calvin. 

Ver.  21.  Lord. — These  words  are  not  to  be  misunderstood,  as 
though  Jacob  doubted  through  unbelief  the  performance  of  the 
Divine  promise  ;  or,  as  if  he  wished  only  on  such  conditions  to 
determine  whether  he  should  serve  God  or  not :  rather,  he  im- 
presses on  himself  the  certainty  of  God's  promise,  and  the  duty 
of  entire  subjection  to  Him,  as  he  vowed  to  be  His  on  the  con- 
dition of  a  fulfilment  which  he  knew  could  not  fail. 

Ver.  22.  Tithe. — The  stone  was  to  be  a  place  of  sacrifice,  as 
were  all  the  places  where  the  Lord,  by  His  gracious  promises, 
had  revealed  Himself  to  liis  fathers.  So  afterwards,  ch.  xxxv. 
6,  7  ;  cf.  above,  ch.  xli.  7,  ch.  xxvi.  25.  The  ancient  orientals 
were  accustomed  to  insert  such  pillars  Into  their  buildings, 
altars,  etc.  To  this  custom  refer  Ps.  cxviii.  22,  23 ;  Isa.  vlil. 
13—15.  The  number  ten,  as  being  the  last  of  the  cardinal 
numbers,  expresses  the  idea  of  perfection,  of  a  whole.  Among 
almost  all  ancient  people  the  tenth  of  their  goods  was  set  apart, 
and  very  frequently  as  a  holy  oflPering.  This  was  an  acknow- 
ledgment that  the  whole  was  God's  property ;  and  by  this  ac- 
knowledgment the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  the  rest  are 
sanctified :  cf.  ch.  xiv.  20.  As  Jacob  had  not  priests  or  officers 
of  the  sanctuary  to  whom  he  could  give  the  tithe  of  his  goods, 
we  must  suppose  some  such  a|>plicatIon  of  it,  as  that  which  took 
place  among  the  Israelites  at  the  end  of  three  years :  Deut.  xiv. 
28,  29.  They  invited  "  the  Levite,  the  stranger,  the  widow, 
and  the  fatherless,"  to  partake  of  the  tithe  of  the  Increase  of  the 
year. 


GENESIS  XXIX.  1-18.  139 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Ver.  1.  East. — The  Desert  Arabia,  where  Laban,  coming  out 
of  Haran,  led  a  Avandering  Hfe  with  his  herds. 

Ver.  3.  Stone. — In  Arabia,  and  other  desert  regions,  it  is  tlie 
custom  to  close  and  cover  up  the  wells,  to  prevent  the  shifting 
sand  choking  them  up.  The  flocks  must  be  collected  together, 
so  that  the  water  may  not  become  vapid  by  long  exposure,  and 
that  a  part  of  the  flocks  may  not  exhaust  the  supply  intended 
for  the  whole.  The  narrative  a], pears  to  imply  that  the  well 
was  not  near  Haran,  as  Jacob  does  not  see  any  city :  it  may, 
therefore,  jn'obably  be  the  one  mentioned,  ch.  xxiv. 

Ver.  5.  Son,  properly  grandson — Bethuel's  son:  but  "son" 
is  here  used,  as  frequently,  for  any  descendant  of  every  kind. 

Ver.  7.  Gathered. — Driven  together  :  they  were  kept  in  the 
open  air,  in  inclosures  of  hurdles. 

Ver.  8.  Cannot ;  not  on  account  of  the  stone,  but  for  the  reason 
given  above,  ver.  2. 

Ver.  9.  Rachel  signifies  a  sheep. 

Ver.  10.  Jacob. — This  right  was  permitted  him  as  a  stranger, 
and  likewise  as  the  kinsman  of  a  rich  keeper  of  flocks. 

Ver.  11.  Wept. — From  an  emotion  of  joy,  at  having  been 
ujiexpectedly  guided  by  God's  providence  to  meet  with  her:  as 
we  read  afterwards  of  Joseph,  ch.  xliii.  30. 

Ver.  15.  Wages. — At  first  natural  love  prevails  in  Laban:  he 
rejoices  to  have  found  his  kinsman.  This  affection,  on  nearer 
acquaintance,  is  mixed  with  a  selfish  feeling,  which  leads  him 
on  from  one  act  of  deceit  to  another, 

Ver.  18.  Daughter. — As  the  daughters  served  their  father  in 
his  house,  he  incurred  the  loss  of  a  part  of  his  possessions  by 
her  marriage.  This  loss  the  bridegroom  was  obliged  to  make 
compensation  for.  In  this  manner  Jacob  purcliascd  his  wife,  as 
is  even  now  the  case  with  iVrabs,  Curds,  etc.,  and  otlier  wihl 
people.  His  service  for  seven  years,  perhaps,  is  a  reference  to 
the  later  law  of  the  Israehtes,  according  to  which,  a  slave  in  the 
seventh  year  became  free:  Exod.  xxi.  2.  Accordingly,  Jacob, 
in  compensation  for  the  daughter's  services,  undertook  to  serve 


140  GENESIS  XXIX.  25-35. 

the  full  term  of  seven  years.  That  he  had  not  brought  with  him 
fl'om  home  the  purchase-price,  is  explained  by  his  desire  not 
to  provoke  his  brother ;  and  therefore  he  scrupulously  avoided 
touching  anything  there.  He  preferred  entirely  to  trust  himself 
into  God's  hands,  who,  by  Isaac  and  at  Bethel,  had  promised 
His  blessing,  rather  than  receive  help  from  man. 

Ver.  25.  Leah. — Even  to  this  day,  in  many  eastern  countries, 
the  bridegroom  sees  the  bride  only  veiled  until  the  morning  after 
the  marriage ;  and  so  even  now  deceptions  like  this  of  Laban 
often  take  place.  As  Jacob  had  deceived  the  blind  Isaac,  so 
was  he  deceived.  With  reference  to  this  history  was  the  marrying 
of  two  sisters  forbidden.  Lev.  xviii.  18 ;  also  the  favouring  of 
one  wife  above  anothei',  Deut.  xxi.  17. 

Ver.  27.  Serve. — This  was  the  true  reason;  the  other  only  a 
pretext. 

Ver.  28.  To  wife ;  i.  e.,  immediately,  not  after  the  expiration 
of  the  seven  years'  service.  The  marriage  festivities  lasted  seven 
days  :  see  Judges  xiv.  12,  17 ;  and  these  Laban  did  not  wish 
disturbed.  Then  he  gave  Jacob  his  second  daughter,  but,  as 
would  seem,  without  any  pomp. 

Ver.  32.  Love  me. — In  ancient  times  we  find  that  the  mothers 
gave  the  names  to  the  children  ;  so  we  read  in  Homer.  Reuben 
is  properly  "  Re-uh-Ben ;"  i.e.,  See  a  son.  The  name  is  given 
to  the  child  in  the  first  excitement  of  joy  at  his  birth.  Leah 
changed  this  cry  of  joy,  by  a  slight  alteration  of  the  letters,  into 
a  thankful  allusion  to  the  consolation  afforded  her  in  her  dejec- 
tion. She  explained  the  name  as  if  Raah-beonji,  i.e.,  He  has 
seen  my  affliction. 

Ver.  33.  Simeon. — Hearing.  The  Lord  hath  heard  it ;  which 
significantly  implies.  He  hath  had  regard  to  it. 

Ver.  35.  Judah ;  i.e.,  "  praised."  In  a  remarkable  manner 
did  the  Divine  providence  afterwards  change  the  sense  of  some 
of  these  names. 


GENESIS  XXX.  4-24.  141 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


Ver.  4.  Wife. — After  the  custom  of  the  time,  according  to 
vvliich  the  children  of  the  maid,  if  given  by  the  wife  herself,  were 
esteemed  the  wife's  children. 

Ver.  8.  Rachel. — In  both  the  names  which  Rachel  gives  to 
these  her  adopted  children,  there  is  not  a  feeling  of  reliance  on 
God  and  of  thankfulness  expressed,  as  was  done  by  Leah  in  the 
names  she  chose ;  but,  to  say  the  least,  a  mixture  of  self-exalta- 
tion and  pride  with  her  other  feelings. 

Ver.  11.  ^  t7'oop. — "With  good  fortune  ;"  happily. 

Ver.  16.  Mandrakes. — The  ancient  interpreters  ex])lain  the 
word  "  Dudaim"  by  Mandragora  ;  English,  "  Mandrakes," — a 
plant,  with  a  strong  whitish  root,  with  oval  spiral  leaves  a  foot 
long  and  about  four  or  five  inches  broad,  and  stalks  which  shoot 
immediately  out  of  the  root,  and  bear  a  light-green,  five-petalled 
blossom.  In  the  time  of  wheat  harvest,  in  INIay,  it  bears  a  round, 
smooth  apple  of  a  dirty-yellow  colour,  filled  with  seed,  which 
emits  an  intoxicating,  but  not  unpleasant  odour.  These  apples 
were  used  in  the  East  from  very  early  times,  even  to  the  present 
day,  for  love-potions ;  and  it  was,  without  doubt,  Rachel's  pur- 
pose so  to  use  them.  We  have  here  also  a  mark  of  her  self- 
willed  disposition,  which  could  attempt  to  wrest  the  blessing 
which  God  had  denied  her.  And  she  experienced  her  punish- 
ment in  the  circumstance  that  Leah  bears  a  son  before  her. 

Ver.  18.  Issachar,  properly  "  Jissasachar ;"  i.e.,  either,  "  this 
is  the  reward,"  or,  "  he  bi'ings  the  reward." 

Ver.  20.  Zehulon  means  "  dwelling."  Sabal  is  "  to  dwell ;" 
sabad,  "  to  present :"  so  that  the  name  is  derived  from  "  dwell- 
ing," but  at  the  same  time  plays  on  the  word  "  gift :"  "  From 
this  gift,  I  see  that  my  husband  will  dwell  with  me." 

Ver.  21.  Dinah,  "the  judged,"  in  the  sense,  as  before,  ver.  6, 
"  She  who,  through  the  highest  Judge,  is  freed  from  all  blame 
and  disgrace." 

Ver.  24.  Joseph. — Also  in  this  name,  there  is  a  double  p];iy 
on  the  word.  From  "  Asaph,"  to  take,  he  is  called,  "  he  takes  :" 
from  "  Jasaph,"  to  repeat,  he  is  named,  "  he  adds  to."     The 


142  GENESIS  XXX.  25-36. 

long-expected,  late-born  Joseph,  is,  among  Jacob's  sons  (as  we 
are  repeatedly  told  in  the  sacred  history),  the  one  of  most  im- 
portance in  his  relation  to  God's  kingdom.  In  the  name  which 
Rachel  gave  him,  there  is  some  sign  of  the  proud  spirit  noticed 
above.  Her  words  were  fulfilled  indeed,  but  in  the  fulfilment 
she  died  :  eh.  xxxv.  16. 

Ver.  25.  Joseph. — Jacob  had  obtained  the  object  of  his  wishes 
— a  child  from  his  beloved  wife.  His  request  contains  a  friendly 
regard  for  Laban. 

Ver.  28.  Give. — The  selfish  Laban  wished  to  receive  a  worldly 
blessinff  from  the  service  of  the  man  of  God  ;  but  he  found  that 
God  is  not  mocked.  To  Laban's  punishment,  Jacob  became 
with  him  richer  than  he  was  himself.  In  considering  the  artifices 
and  stratagems  used  by  Jacob,  we  must  remember  that  these 
were  not  counselled  him  by  God,  but  permitted  and  blessed,  as 
they  were  not  absolutely  sinful.  A  man  of  a  higher  degree  of 
self-denial  would  have  learnt  the  lessons  of  patience  and  sub- 
mission from  Laban's  injustice  ;  still  he  might  allege  in  his 
justification  the  necessity  of  defending  himself,  as  in  a  state  ot 
war,  that  it  was  of  consequence  for  the  heir  of  promise  to  be 
in  a  condition  of  outward  prosperity.  In  effecting  his  purpose 
at  least,  he  did  not  use  any  unlawful  means.  We  are  to  judge 
this  history  as  many  others  in  the  O.  T.,  in  which,  though  God 
does  not  counsel  or  sanction  the  acts,  He  still  allows  them  to 
be  successful,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  out  His  designs  in  relation 
to  His  kingdom ;  as,  for  example,  in  the  case  of  the  Israelites 
demanding  a  king. 

Ver.  32.  Hire. — Laban  was  glad  to  close  with  this  demand, 
since  among  sheep  and  goats  which  feed  under  the  open  sky  far 
the  fewest  are  wont  to  be  spotted  and  speckled. 

Ver.  36.  Fed. — To  make  more  sure,  he  separated  the  ring- 
straked  cattle,  and  took  them  out  of  the  flocks  which  Jacob,  as 
Laban's  servant,  tended.  These  were  committed  to  the  keeping 
of  his  sons  ;  and  to  prevent  any  mixture  he  put  the  greatest  pos- 
sible space  between  the  speckled  flocks  which  his  sons,  and  the 
white  flocks  which  Jacob,  fed.  From  henceforth,  only  what  out 
of  the  white  flocks  were  born  ring-straked,  should  be  Jacob's 
property.  Laban  had  acted  here  with  the  greatest  severity  and 
exactness,  and  he  had  no  right  to  complain  if  he  were  dealt  with 
according  to  the  strict  letter  of  the  law. 


*  GENESIS  XXX.  39-42 ;    XXXI.  3-12.  143 

Ver.  39.  Ring-straked. — With  no  animal  does  the  act  of  see- 
ing during  breeding-time  have  so  much  influence  as  with  the 
sheep.  The  contrary  to  what  Jacob  here  did  is  often  practised 
among  us,  in  order  to  procure  sheep  altogether  white. 

Ver.  40.  Flock. — As  now  there  were  speckled  sheep  in 
Laban's  flock  which  Jacob  tended,  he  made  use  of  a  fresh  strata- 
gem, lie  put  the  speckled  sheep  before  the  white,  and  this  had 
the  same  effect  as  the  pilled  rods. 

Cattle. — He  made  his  servants  feed  the  floclis,  which  were  now 
separated  from  Laban's. 

Ver.  42.  Stronger. — The  sheep  of  those  lands  yean  twice  a 
year.  In  the  autumn,  when  they  have  particularly  rich  pasture  : 
"  then  the  sti'onger  cattle  did  conceive  ; "  accordingly,  lambs 
Avhicli  fall  in  February  are  the  most  esteemed.  In  the  spring, 
when  the  pasturage  is  not  so  rich,  and  the  sheep  themselves  are 
weakened  by  the  damp  and  moisture,  they  do  not  conceive  lambs 
of  so  good  a  quality.  Jacob,  therefore,  took  care  to  lay  his  rods 
in  the  gutters  in  the  autumn,  but  did  not  so  in  the  spring. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Ver.  3.  With  thee. — We  must  carefully  distinguish,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  narrative,  between  what  God  promises  to  do  to 
liim,  and  what  Jacob  himself  afterwards  carries  into  effect.  God 
had  not  bidden  him  flee  away  secretly,  which  is  tlie  act  with 
which  Laban  afterwards  (v.  27)  reproaches  him. 

Ver.  8.  Speckled. — It  appears  from  this  accomit  of  Jacob's,  that 
(ver.  32,  33  of  preceding  chap.)  in  the  representation  of  the  agree- 
ment about  the  variegated  cattle,  much  was  comprised — especi- 
ally the  difference  with  respect  to  the  sheep  and  goats,  between 
ver.  32  and  35,  points  to  the  deceitful  changes  of  the  wages  prac- 
tised by  Laban.  The  words  were  taken  in  a  wider  or  narrower 
sense,  according  as  Laban  found  to  be  to  his  advanta^i-e. 

■'CD  tD 

Ver.  12.  Lahan. — Jacob  had,  therefore,  before  the  concluding 
of  the  hard  agreement  with  Laban,  received  from  God  the  same 
promise  as  he  had  in  his  solitary  resting  by  the  stone  at  Bethel, 
ch.  xxviii.  12.     It  is  not,  however,  said  that  the  artifice  which 


144  GENESIS  XXXI.  13-20. 

lie  practised  was  counselled  to  him  in  this  dream.  It  is  merely 
promised  to  him  that,  in  spite  of  his  niggardly  wages,  matters 
shall  so  turn  out  contrary  to  expectation  in  the  herds,  as  if  there 
were  merely  ring-straked,  speckled,  and  grizzled  cattle.  That 
Jacob,  in  order  to  possess  the  promise  made,  had  recourse  to  a 
stratagem,  belongs  to  the  same  weakness  of  faith  which  we  before 
perceive  in  him.  God  permitted  its  success,  as  he  acted  under 
the  pressure  of  self-defence,  and  there  was  no  actual  injustice  in 
the  act  itself. 

Ver.  13.  Arise. — The  two  visions  are  clearly  here  joined  to- 
gether, since  the  last  words  were  spoken  only  in  the  revelation 
mentioned,  ver.  3. 

Ver.  19.  Shear. — The  time  of  shearing  was  a  great  rural 
season  of  rejoicing,  to  which  guests  were  invited  and  at  which 
feasts  were  made  (ch.  xxxviii.  12 ;  1  Sam.  xxv.  4 ;  2  Sam.  xiii. 
23).     Laban's  absence  lasted,  therefore,  several  days. 

Images. — "  The  theraphim  of  her  father."  These  images,  which 
are  mentioned  through  the  whole  history  up  to  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  were  a  kind  of  household  god,  images  in  the  likeness 
of  men  (so  ISIichal  put  such  an  image  in  the  bed,  and  pretended 
it  was  David,  1  Sam.  xix.  13).  From  several  passages  we 
gather  that  they  were  consulted  and  gave  oracles  in  some  way, 
though  we  do  not  now  know  how.  With  the  priests,  therefore, 
they  occupied  the  place  of  Urim  and  Thummim  (light  and  right- 
eousness). So  Judges  xviii.  5.  Cf.  Ezek.  xxi.  21,  Zech.  x.  2. 
They  seem  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  less  grievous  kind  of 
superstition  (and  so  were  found  even  in  David's  house) ;  yet 
were  they  reckoned  among  the  abominations  which  Josiah  rooted 
out  from  among  his  people  (2  Kings  xxiii.  24).  We  gather 
from  vers.  30,  49,  ch.  xxxv.  2,  that  idolatry  prevailed  in  Laban's 
house,  perhaps  combined  with  the  worship  of  the  one  true  God, 
and  that  even  Jacob's  family  was  not  exempt  from  it.  Rachel 
took  with  her  an  image  of  the  kind  mentioned,  since,  in  her  im- 
patience to  become  fruitful  in  bearing  children,  she  snatched  at 
every  means ;  or,  perhaps,  she  wished  to  hinder  Laban  from 
inquiring  of  his  deities  which  way  the  fugitives  had  taken.  The 
first  supposition  appears  to  agree  best  with  Rachel's  self-willed, 
impatient  disposition. 

Ver.  20.  Unaioares ;  lit.,  "  The  heart  of  Laban."  To  steal 
away  the  heart,  as  the  seat  of  the  understanding,  means,  to 


GENESIS  XXXI.  21-4G.  145 

outwit  any  one.     It  is  here  said  in  contradistinction  to  tlie  steal- 
ing away  the  images,  in  which  Jacob  had  no  part. 

Ver.  21.  River. — Euphrates. 

Gilead. — Gilead  was  originally  a  mountainous  district  to  the 
N.  of  the  river  Jabbok,  over  which  Jacob  did  not  pass  until  ch. 
xxxii.  23  :  then  from  N.  to  S.  In  after  times  a  district  of  this 
region,  and  even  sometimes  the  whole  of  East  Jordan,  was 
called  Gilead.  To  this  day  a  mountain  to  the  south  of  Jabbok, 
abounding  in  oaks  and  other  forest  trees,  is  called  Dschelaad. 

Ver.  24.  Speak. — God  here  also  protects  His  servant  in  a 
wonderful  manner,  under  the  most  imminent  danger.  Laban 
honoured  still  the  true  God,  yet  speaks  of  Him  as  if  He  did  not 
belong  to  himself :  "The  God  of  your  father"  (ver.  29) ;  because 
he  did  not  stand  in  covenant  with  Him. 

Ver.  28.  Kiss. — As  all  this  was  mere  pretext,  Jacob  knew  the 
right  ans^ver  to  give  in  what  he  afterwards  says. 

^ FooUshhj.—  T\\Q  words  "folly,"  "foolish,"  have  in  the  O.  T. 
always  the  moral  sense,  "sinful;"  as,  on  the  other  hand,  "the 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom." 

Ver.  32.  Knew  not. — Jacob  acted  with  perfect  honesty  to- 
wards Laban.  Henceforth  we  perceive  no  further  trace  of  his 
former  craftiness.  The  dealings  of  God's  providence  had  re- 
moved his  old  characteristics;  and  the  genuine  trust  in  God,  which 
had  from  the  first  lain  dormant  in  his  heart,  is  now  called  forth. 

Ver.  34.  Famiture. — That  which  is  now  customary  among 
the  Arabs  consists  of  a  large  closed  baskctwork,  with  a  place  for 
sitting  and  reclining,  and  a  window  at  the  side.  One  of  this 
kind  hangs  on  each  side  of  the  camel. 

Ver.  35.  Custom. — She  was  accordingly  unclean,  and  must  keep 
apart.  Laban  wouldtherefore  avoid  touching  that  on  which  she  sat. 

Ver.  40.  Frost. — The  alternation  of  heat  and  cold  is  very 
great  in  summer, — so  much  so,  that  often  cold  nights  succeed  the 
intolerable  heat  of  day.  In  the  East,  therefore,  clothes  lined 
with  skins  are  often  worn  at  night. 

Ver.  43.  What  can  I  do? — I  should  injure  myself  if  I  did  any 
harm  to  aught  of  thine. 

Ver.  4G.  Brethren. — Laban's  sons,  Avho  had  come  with  their 
father. 

Gather. — To  make  seats  of.  People  avoid  evening  and  morning 
sitting  on  the  damp  ground.     This  is  still  customary  in  the  East. 

K 


146  GENESIS  XXXI.  47-54  ;   XXXII,  2-7. 

Ver.  47.  Galeed. — Saliadatha  in  Aramaic,  and  Galeed  in 
Hebrew,  signify  "  heap  of  witness."  Gilead  is  a  slightly  changed 
form  which  the  word  acquired  in  the  language  of  the  people. 

Ver.  49.  Ifizpah. — The  heap  bore  likewise  the  name  !Mizpah  = 
watch-tower.  A  town  situated  in  this  region,  belonging  to  the 
tribe  of  Gad,  was  thus  called ;  it  w^as  the  residence  of  Jephthah 
(Joshua  xiii.  26  ;  Judges  xi.  34,  ch.  x.  17). 

Yer.  53.  Judge ;  or,  "  The  gods  of  their  fathers  be  judge." 
In  the  Hebrew  the  word  he  is  in  the  plural,  as  a  sign  that  not 
one  god  was  meant.  Laban  appealed  to  the  gods  of  his  fathers. 
The  worship  of  them  did  not,  to  his  somewhat  heathenised  mind, 
exclude  Jehovah,  whom  Abraham  honoured. 

Ver.  54.  Called. — To  partake  of  the  sacrificial  feast  which 
followed  many  kinds  of  sacrifices.  As  Laban's  family  had  not 
altogether  renounced  the  service  of  the  true  God,  Jacob  could 
invite  them  to  take  part  in  the  service  paid  to  God  and  in  the 
sacrificial  feast. 


CHAPTER   XXXH. 

Ver.  2.  Mahanaim. — The  two  hosts  appear  to  have  encamped, 
the  one  in  front,  the  other  behind  his  company  :  the  one  in 
front  as  a  defence  against  Esau ;  the  one  behind,  against  Laban 
and  the  other  dangers  from  Mesopotamia. 

Ver.  4.  Servant. — The  words  "  lord  "  and  "  servant "  may 
belong  to  the  extreme  courtesy  of  the  East  (cf.  ch.  xix.  2,  ch. 
xxiii.  6,  etc.).  But  Jacob  miglit  also  have  used  them  with  the 
express  purpose  of  giving  Esau  to  understand  that  he  laid  no 
claim  to  the  lordship  over  his  family,  which  belonged  to  the 
birthright  of  the  eldest.  The  expression  by  no  means  implied 
that,  from  unbelieving  fear,  he  renounced  the  blessing  accorded 
him ;  but  merely,  that  his  eye  was  fixed  especially  on  the  Di\ine 
promises  with  respect  to  his  posterity  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
without  on  that  account  making  any  personal  claim  on  Esau. 
Xay,  the  trial  of  his  faith  consisted  in  his  personally  experienc- 
ing the  very  opposite  of  that  which  was  promised  to  his  descend- 
ants, as  was  the  case  with  Abraham. 

Ver.  7.  Divided. — In  the  present  day,  the  caravans  are  fre- 


GENESIS  XXXII.  12-24.  147 

qnently  thus  divided  to  avoid  the  danger  of  being  entirely 
})luridcred,  so  tiiat,  in  case  of  an  attach,  one  part  may  escape. 

Ver.  12.  TJiou  saidst. — A  prayer  of  wonderful  beauty,  in 
which  Jacob,  with  the  boldness  inspired  by  faith,  reminds  God 
of  His  promises ;  at  the  same  time,  in  deep  humility  acknow- 
ledges his  unworthiness  of  Ilis  mercies.  This  "  weeping  and 
supplication  "  (Ilosea  xii.  4)  was  the  means  whereby  he  over- 
came ;  of  wliicli  he  receives  a  comfortable  assurance  in  the  signi- 
ficant vision  of  the  following  night. 

Ver.  15.  Milch. — Of  particular  value  on  that  account,  as 
camel's  milk  is  a  great  article  of  food  in  the  East. 

Ver.  20.  Present. — By  this  division  of  the  droves  he  wished 
to  spread  out  the  gift  before  Esau,  and  at  the  same  time  to  give 
him  more  time  for  consideration  and  for  laying  aside  his  anger. 

Ver,  22.  Jahhok. — The  Jabbok  is  the  present  Wady  Serka — 
a  bed  which  does  not  at  all  times  of  the  year  contain  water.  It 
rises  out  of  the  mountains  of  the  East  Hauran,  and  falls  into  the 
Jordan  at  an  equal  distance  between  the  Sea  Gennesaret  and 
the  Dead  Sea.  In  ancient  times  it  was  the  boundary  between 
the  Ammonites  (who  dwelt  between  Jabbok  and  Arnon)  and 
the  Amorites,  who  in  the  time  of  Moses  had  possession  of  Sihon. 
In  later  times  it  was  the  south  boundary  of  the  tribe  of  Gad 
against  the  Annnonites. 

Ver.  24.  Alone. — On  the  northern  bank  of  the  Jabbok,  after 
all  had  passed  over.  Here  a  marvellous  event  happens  to  Jacob, 
in  which  his  name  is  changed,  and  the  crisis  of  the  first  part  of 
his  life  is  over.  Full  of  fear,  Jacob  had  sent  messengers  to  his 
brother,  and  a  threatening  action  is  the  only  reply.  He  now 
does  all  in  his  power  to  conciliate  his  brother,  and,  that  ended, 
he  remains  alone  with  God.  Now  a  Avonderful  vision  takes 
place.  An  unknown  man  comes  against  him  as  an  adversary, 
and  wrestles  with  the  purpose  of  throwing  liim  to  the  ground ; 
but  Jacob  contends  against  him,  upon  which  the  Unknown  smites 
his  thigh,  so  that  he  limps  upon  it.  Now  the  contest  is  at  an 
end.  Jacob,  convinced  of  the  might  of  his  antagonist,  earnestly 
prays  for  his  blessing.  And  the  Unknown  blesses  him,  and 
gives  him  a  new  name  significant  of  what  has  now  taken  place ; 
but  refuses  to  answer  Jacob's  question.  What  is  thy  name? 
We  are  to  consider  this  event  not  as  a  vision, — something  pre- 
sented to  Jacob's  imagination  and  mind's  eye, — not  yet,  again,  as 


148  GENESIS  XXXII.  28. 

mere  ordinary  liistory.  It  was  an  event  which  took  place  while 
he  was  raised  to  a  state  of  unusual  suhlimity  (like  that  in  the 
Temptation  and  Transfiguration).  The  meaning  would  reveal 
itself  when  he  thought  on  his  past  history,  his  present  condition, 
his  anxiety,  his  prayer,  and  perceived  tliat  he  halted  :  since  the 
last  circumstance  was  an  abiding  sign,  that  it  was  no  vision, 
but  God  had  spoken  to  him  by  an  act,  as  He  had  done  hereto- 
fore. AVhile  Jacob  is  full  of  fear  on  account  of  Esau's  anger, 
feeling  what  just  cause  his  brother  had  against  him.  He  who  had 
hitherto  been  his  Friend  and  Protector — God  Himself — appears 
as  an  adversary,  and  says,  "  I  am  thy  foe  :  overcome  Me,  and  thy 
brother  shall  not  be  able  to  do  thee  hurt !"  And  he  does  over- 
come, not  by  his  own  strength  (that  is  evident  from  his  lame- 
ness), but  by  prayer  and  trust  in  God's  promises.  He  gains  a 
blessing.  His  old  life  falls  from  him  :  purified  and  sanctified 
by  God's  gracious  dealings  with  him,  he  is  no  longer  to  bear  the 
old  name  Jacob,  polluted  as  it  was  by  his  deceit ;  but  he  is  to  be 
called  by  a  new  name,  which  shall  be  a  witness  of  his  victory  in 
the  severest  trial — a  victory  which  he  gained  by  his  distrust  of 
himself  and  firm  trust  in  God's  promise.  God's  manifestation 
to  him  is  not  destructive  of  life — Plis  soul  is  preserved;  and  though 
he  halts  on  his  thigh,  the  sun  rises  full  of  blessing  upon  him. 
This  history  is  not  only  full  of  signification  to  Jacob,  but  it  re- 
presents the  combat  and  the  triumph  of  the  soldiers  of  God  in 
their  severest  trials.  It  often  happens  in  different  times  of 
their  life  that  God  seems  to  be  an  adversary,  to  withdraw  His 
grace  and  protection — that  they  find  themselves  in  great  peril 
outwardly  or  inwardly ;  and  they  have  nothing  on  which  to  rely 
but  God's  promise,  in  naked  faith,  without  the  comforts  and  re- 
freshment of  His  presence  in  their  souls.  These  are  the  times 
when  God  is  pleased  to  crown  His  true  combatants,  and  for 
their  greater  confirmation  to  give  them  a  new  name  (to  place 
them  in  an  entirely  new  relation  to  Himself),  to  fi*ee  them  from 
their  perplexities  and  troubles. 

Ver.  28.  Prevailed. — In  the  expression  "  with  men,"  God  re- 
minds him  of  the  consolatory  side  of  the  events  of  his  life — on  the 
opposition  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  Divine  promises  Avhich  Esau 
and  Isaac,  and  finally  Laban,  had  offered — and  on  the  entire 
victory  over  it  on  the  part  of  Jacob  through  his  trust  in  God's 
words.     To  this  is  added  now  the  contest — the  hardest  of  all  he 


GENESIS  XXXir.  29-32  ;    XXXIII.  3.  149 

liad  encountered — the  contest  in  which  God  was  his  adversary  ; 
but  in  this  also  Jacol3's  faith  prevailed.  He  is  now  become  a 
true  "combatant  of  God" — a  combatant  for  God  in  His  affairs 
on  carthj  as  the  word  may  signify.  To  this  was  the  people  of 
Israel  afterwards  called, — to  this  is  the  spiritual  Israel  of  all 
times  called,  after  it  has  sustained  the  contest  of  ])robation  and 
come  off  conqueror. 

Ver.  29.  Wherefore'?  as  Judges  xiii.  18.  As  if  it  had  been 
said,  "  What  need  of  further  declaration  ?  Dost  thou  not  under- 
stand what  has  taken  place  ?  " 

Ver.  31.  Penuel. — This  is  only  another  form  of  the  same  word. 

Thigh. — This  is  a  sign  of  his  own  helplessness — that  he  could 
not  have  prevailed  by  his  own  power.  He  was  to  carry  for  a 
while  this  mark  with  him,  as  a  memento  of  the  significancy  of  the 
history.  There  remains  with  the  Christian,  even  when  he  has 
overcome  in  the  severest  contest  of  faith,  some  mark  of  his  former 
weakness,  like  the  occasional  smarting  and  scar  of  a  deep  wound. 

Ver.  32.  Shraiik. — An  ancient  custom  of  the  people  (there 
was  no  law  on  the  subject),  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of 
the  event  in  which  their  great  progenitor  and  the  people  re- 
ceived the  sacred  name.  The  reason  why  Jacob,  even  after 
this  change  of  his  name,  is  still  called  by  the  old  one,  and  in- 
deed the  whole  people  is  often  in  solemn  addresses  to  them 
addressed  as  Jacob,  while  Abraham,  after  God  had  so  named 
liim,  is  never  afterwards  called  Abram, — the  reason  (I  say)  is 
this  :  that  Abram's  changed  name  is  merely  a  title  of  honour, 
unconnected  with  any  great  prophetic  event  of  his  life ;  but  in 
Jacob's  case,  God's  Divine  providence  and  preservation  of  him 
was  shown  even  in  the  craft  of  the  Supplanter,  mingled  as  his 
conduct  was  with  much  that  was  sinful. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Ver.  3.  Boioed.  —  He  throws  himself  seven  times  to  the 
ground  in  such  a  manner  as  to  touch  it  with  his  face,  which  we 
elsewhere  meet  with  as  a  mark  of  respect  and  reverence 
(David  does  the  same  thrice  before   his  preserver   Jonathan, 


150  GENESIS  XXXIII.  4-17. 

1  Sam.  XX.  41)  ;  but  here  the  reverence  paid  to  Esau  as  his  supe- 
rior is  meant  as  a  renunciation  of  all  claim  on  the  personal 
earthly  privileges  of  the  birthright. 

Ver.  4.  Wejjt. — The  Holy  Scripture  both  mentions  openly 
the  infirmities  of  the  saints,  and  the  admirable  traits  of  those  who 
are  out  of  the  covenant  with  God.  Later  Jews  have  taken 
offence  at  Esau  kissing  his  brother,  and  the  words,  "he  kissed 
him "  (one  word  in  Hebrew),  are  wanting  in  very  old  MSS. 
The  narrow-hearted  Pharisees  who  transcribed  this  passage 
could  not  enter  into  the  depth  of  God's  mercy,  which  allows  marks 
of  His  image  to  remain  even  in  those  who  will  not  be  His  chil- 
dren. In  this  reception  granted  by  Esau,  there  lay  an  abashing 
reproof  of  Jacob's  earlier  sin  against  him. 

Ver.  10.  Pleased. — Heb. :  "  And  thou  hast  received  me  gra- 
ciously." The  whole  does  not  mean,  "  Receive  it  as  a  thank- 
offering  for  the  great  goodness  Avhich  thou  hast  showed  me ;" 
but,  "  Therefore  must  thou  show  me  such  great  goodness,  to  re- 
ceive me  not  as  one  man  another,  but  as  the  gracious  and  mer- 
ciful God  receives  a  man  when  he  entreats  Him  :  accordingly, 
thou  shalt  receive  this  from  me  as  an  offering."  God  has  put 
this  feeling  towards  me  in  your  heart,  that  thou  mayest  receive 
this  my  gift. 

Ver.  11.  Blessing ;  i.e.,  not  "  the  blessing  which  God  has  given 
me,"  but  that  wherewith  I  bless  thee.  "  Blessing"  is  here  a  gift 
of  reconcihation  :  1  Sam.  xxv.  27. 

Ver.  13.  Tender. — As  Joseph  was  born  when  Jacob  was 
ninety-one  years  old,  he  was  at  this  time  about  six  ;  Dinah  not 
much  older. 

Ver.  14.  Seir. — He  promises  him  a  visit  in  Seir,  of  which, 
however,  we  find  no  further  mention.  Jacob  did  this  in  order 
to  show  clearly  that,  in  any  case,  it  was  his  own  fixed  purpose  to 
abide  in  Canaan.  Notwithst;indinghis  submission  to  his  brother, 
he  still  holds  fast  to  the  promise  made  him  by  God. 

Ver.  15.  Lord. — Esau  desires  to  leave  Jacob  some  of  his 
people  to  protect  him.  Jacob,  however,  declines  the  offer,  as  he 
knew  the  wild  capricious  character  of  his  brother,  and  feared  on 
that  account  some  futui'e  hindrance  to  his  settlement  in  Canaan. 

Ver.  17.  Succoth. — Jacob  went  over  the  Jordan,  and  then,  in 
a  north-western  direction,  up  the  valley  through  which  this  river 
runs.     Here  is  the  valley  Succoth,  in  which  was  situated  the 


GENESIS  XXXIII.  18,  20  ;   XXXIV.  151 

town  Beth-Scliean,  wliicli  the  Greeks,  by  a  corruption  of  the 
word  Succoth,  called  Scythopolis.  It  is  the  present  Bysan.  In 
the  neighbourhood,  towards  the  south,  are  to  this  da}-  tlie  ruins 
of  a  place  Succoth.  Jacob  purposed  to  dwell  for  some  time 
lonijer  in  this  region,  and  therefore  he  built  himself  a  house. 
Succoth  means,  properly,  booths  made  of  branches  of  trees.  In 
these  hot  countries,  however,  the  sheep  do  not  require  pens  of 
this  kind.  We  must  rather  understand  here  hurdles  fenced  in 
with  boughs  and  thorns.  Where  such  are  fixed,  a  longer  so- 
journ than  ordinary  is  always  intended. 

Ver.  18.  Shalem. — The  word  "  Schalem"  is  here  most  proba- 
bly not  the  name  of  a  place  at  all,  but  signifies  "  in  peace  and 
safety."  Jacob  reached  happily  the  end  of  his  journey  in 
Shechem. 

Ver.  20.  El-elohe- Israel — According  to  the  new  name  which 
he  had  received,  ch.  xxxii.  28.  The  words  in  Ileb.  mean,  "  God, 
the  God  of  Israel." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

An  event  like  the  one  in  this  chapter  is  a  proof  of  the  danger 
and  mistakes  resulting  from  a  mere  carnal  belief  in  the  privileges 
of  Israel.  The  chief  feeling  which  the  sons  of  Jacob  nourished 
respecting  themselves  as  the  chosen  family,  was  the  proud  one, 
that  any  injury  against  them  was  to  be  more  signally  avenged 
than  if  committed  against  any  others.  Even  circumcision  could 
not  atone  for  the  wrong  done.  Their  wild  fierceness  and  the 
weakness  of  Jacob  are  strongly  contrasted.  His  disapproval  of 
their  crime,  however,  did  not  arise  only  from  fear.  lie  held  it 
in  utter  abhorrence  on  its  own  account,  ch.  xlix.  6,  7. 

The  narrative  before  us  shows  what  the  people  of  Israel 
would  have  become,  but  for  the  Sj)irit  of  God,  which,  by  priests 
and  sacrifices,  and  by  prophets,  continually  kept  guiding  them 
in  the  right  way. 

The  impartiality  of  the  sacred  history  is  evinced  in  the  way  in 
which  Moses,  the  descendant  of  Levi,  records  this  circumstance, 
and  the  curse  Avhicli  Jacob  afterwards  pronounced  on  its  authors. 


152  GENESIS  XXXIV.  2-15. 

Ver.  2.  SJiecJiem. — The  town  received,  perhaps  somewhat 
later,  its  name  fi'om  him,  and  is  so  called  here  by  anticipation. 

Defiled. — "  Hmnbled"  her.  The  word  shows  that  he  used 
violence.  A  "  prince"  does  not  denote  one  who  was  of  royal 
extraction,  but  a  person  of  power,  influence,  and  wealth  in  the 
place. 

Ver.  3.  Kindly. — He  took  her,  as  the  sequel  shows,  into  his 
house,  and  kept  her  there,  with  the  intention  of  making  her  for- 
mally his  wife.  The  words  in  the  Heb.,  "  he  spoke  to  the  heart 
of  the  damsel,"  are  the  proper  expression  for  "  comforted."  So 
Isa.  xlii.  2. 

Ver.  5.  Until. — Among  other  reasons,  for  the  cause  given,  ch. 
xxiv.  50.  So  we  find  afterwards  that  Dinah's  own  brothers,  the 
children  of  Jacob  and  Leah,  undertake  to  avenge  her  cause. 

Ver.  7.  Folly. — Foil}'-,  a  fool,  are  frequently  used  in  the  O.  T. 
to  express  acts  of  great  wickedness.  It  is  derived  from  a  word 
which  in  the  original  signifies  being  weak,  being  nothing,  and  so 
weak  in  spirit ;  and  the  connection  of  thought  implies  this  great 
truth,  that  irreligion  and  vice  is  the  greatest  folly,  the  fear  and 
love  of  God  the  highest  wisdom.  So  "  the  fool  hath  said  in  his 
heart.  There  is  no  God:"  Ps.  xiv.  1.  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
wisdom,  and  to  avoid  evil  is  understanding :"  Job  xxviii.  28.  It 
is  still  a  principle  among  the  modern  Arabs,  that  a  man  is  not 
so  much  dishonoured  by  the  seduction  of  his  wife,  as  a  father  or 
brother  throuo;h  that  of  a  daughter  or  sister ;  since  a  man  can 
separate  from  his  wife,  but  cannot  dissolve  relationship  with 
daughter  or  sister, — a  view  of  marriage  quite  opposed  to  the 
Divine  institution,  but  consonant  to  the  notion  of  the  natural 
man. 

Done. — Lit.  "  And  so  is  it  not  done  ;"  it  is  against  all  custom 
thus  to  violate  the  rights  of  hospitality. 

Ver.  10.  Possessions. — They  shall  become  one  people,  trade, 
and  obtain  firm  footing  therein.  This  would  have  been  most 
dangerous  to  Jacob's  family ;  thus,  contrary  to  Divine  appoint- 
ment, to  mingle  with  the  heathen.  The  crime  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob  was  used  by  Divine  Providence  to  sever  this  knot. 

Ver.  12.  Dowry  and  gift. — "Dowry,"  the  price  Avhich  the 
bridegroom  pays  the  father  for  the  daughter.  "  Gift,"  the  pre- 
sent which  the  bride  receives. 

Ver.  15.   Circumcised. — Although  they   meant  this  proposal 


GENESIS  XXXIV.  19-30.  153 

treacherously,  yet  it  shows  what  stress  they  laid  on  the  mark  of 
the  covenant. 

Ver.  19.  Honourable. — It  belongs  to  the  impartial  representa- 
tion of  Holy  Scripture  that  Shechem  and  Hamor  should  appear  in 
an  admirable  and  even  noble  light,  and  that  the  circumstances 
in  their  favour  should  be  purposely  brought  forward.  The  act 
of  the  sons  of  Jacob  appears  so  much  the  baser,  and  likewise  the 
dispensation  of  Providence  so  much  the  more  awful,  which  in  its 
judgments  on  men,  and  in  the  carrying  out  of  its  designs,  does 
not  regard  such  excellences. 

Ver.  23.  Dwell. — They  represented  openly  to  the  people  the 
rite  of  circumcision,  not  as  a  new  service,  or  as  an  entrance  into 
covenant  with  the  God  of  Israel,  but  only  as  an  outward  cere- 
mony. So,  in  ancient  times,  one  people  borrowed  this  custom 
from  another,  without  attaching  any  religious  meaning  to  the 
observance.  We  may  here  observe  how  adroitly  Hamor  and 
Shechem  represented  to  the  people  an  act  in  which  their  own 
personal  interest  was  involved  as  a  public  advantage. 

Ver.  25.  Soi^e. — In  all  sicknesses  the  third  day  is  commonly 
the  most  critical,  as  that  in  which  fever  comes.  When  adults 
are  circumcised,  it  is  generally  three  weeks  before  they  can 
move  well. 

Boldbj. — We  must  suppose  that  the  sons  of  Jacob  took  with 
them  armed  servants  in  the  attack ;  at  all  events,  that  the  town 
was  small. 

Ver.  29.  House. — We  here  see  the  wild  Eastern  spirit  of 
revenge  in  its  full  force,  like  what  takes  place  in  those  countries 
even  now.  So  likewise  the  heathen  notion,  that  a  whole  people 
was  involved  in  the  crime  and  punishment  of  the  prince. 

Ver.  30.  House. — Jacob  here  puts  before  his  sons  the  motive 
which  their  carnal  mind  would  understand  ; — that  he  afterwards 
spoke  in  different  terms  to  them,  his  curse,  cli.  xlix.  G,  7,  shows 
us.  At  the  same  time,  these  words  are  adduced  by  the  sacred 
writer,  to  point  out  to  us  in  what  a  wonderful  manner  God 
preserved  the  poor  despised  family  from  mixture  with  the 
heathen  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  utter  extermination  on  the 
other.  The  whole  chapter  will  be  full  of  edification  to  those 
wlio  have  a  spiritual  mind  and  eye  for  the  understanding  of 
the  O.  T. 


154  GENESIS  XXXV.  1-4. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


Ver.  1.  Appeared. — The  incident  narrated  in  the  former 
chapter,  had  the  effect  of  completely  severing  the  family  of 
Jacob  from  all  connection  with  the  Canaanites.  Henceforth 
all  traces  of  idolatry  disappear.  Jacob  goes  to  Bethel  (where 
in  his  need  he  had  first  found  support  in  God's  protection),  that 
he  might  perform  the  vow  there  made  (eh.  xxviii.  20).  In  this 
critical  period  of  his  life  he  pays  an  especial  act  of  reverence  to 
God.  As  in  the  N.  T.  we  read  of  the  "  God  of  peace,  of  con- 
solation, of  hope,"  while  one  and  the  same  God  is  meant,  who 
brings  peace,  consolation,  and  hope ;  so  with  the  patriarchs  their 
faith  is  given  to  God,  who  has  revealed  Himself  to  them  at 
different  times.  It  is  the  God  who  appeared  at  Bethel,  and  yet 
no  other  than  the  God  who  made  Himself  known  to  Abraham 
at  Mamre ;  and  God  here  expressly  confirms  this  kind  of  definite, 
living  faith  in  Him.  Thus  we  honour  the  God  who  has  revealed 
Himself  in  Christ,  in  whom  dwelleth  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily. 

Ver.  2.  Strange  gods. — The  household  deities — the  theraphim, 
such  as  Rachel  took  with  her.  At  all  times  among  the  Israelites 
there  was  united  together  with  the  worship  of  the  one  true 
God  very  much  idolatry,  in  Avhich  the  unbelief,  or  half-hearted 
belief  of  the  people  sought  support :  just  as  among  Christians 
now  may  be  seen  the  refined  idolatry  of  the  worldling,  or  the 
saint-worship  of  the  Romanist. 

Be  clean  ;  i.e.,  wash  or  bathe  yourselves.  This  is  the  earliest 
mention  of  a  religious  washing,  which  was  in  after  times  enforced 
with  many  particular  ceremonies.  In  this  way  were  the  familv 
of  Jacob,  inwardly  and  outwardly,  to  cleanse  themselves  from  all 
defilements  of  idolatry. 

Garments. — Even  the  garments  were  esteemed  defiled  through 
idolatry,  since  various  religious  tokens  were  attached  to  many  of 
the  clothes. 

Ver.  4.  Ear-rings. — These  were  used  for  several  purposes  of 
superstition.  They  were  often  inscribed  with  words  and  marks, 
which  were  supposed  to  ward  oft'  the  hurtful  influence  of  sounds. 


GENESIS  XXXV.  5-14.  155 

Oak,  which  was  in  later  times  of  much  note,  and  held  in 
honour,  in  memory  of  the  event  here  narrated. 

Ver.  5.  Terror. — A  fear,  inspired  by  God,  of  injuring  the 
family  of  Jacob.  This  religious  obedience  shown  by  liim  was 
re]:»aid  with  the  reward,  that  the  fear  of  him  fell  on  all  the 
neighbouring  people. 

Ver.  7.  El-hethel. — He  did  not  call  the  place  so,  as  he  had 
already  named  it  Bethel ;  but  he  named  the  altar  after  the  God 
who  appeared  to  him. 

God. — In  the  Hebrew,  the  plural  stands  here  :  "  Because  the 
Gods  had  appeared  to  him" — the  Godhead  in  plurality:  the 
heavenly  vision,  in  which  he  had  seen  God  and  so  many  angels. 
God  (Elohim)  is  the  ideal,  impersonal  expression  ;  and  therefore 
here,  God,  together  with  His  angels,  the  higher  Divine  existence, 
is  designated  in  an  indefinite  manner  by  this  expression.  The 
angels  are  never  simply  called  "  Elohim,"  but  the  sons  of  Elohim. 
But  the  heavenly  beings  in  whom  God  reveals  Himself,  in  a 
more  perfect  manner  than  in  men,  as  they  are  without  sin,  are 
often  included  in  the  idea  of  the  heavenly,  the  Divine  ;  so  that 
"  the  Deity"  comprehends  all  the  heavenly  beings,  God  and  His 
angels  (cf  Ps.  viii.  6),  though  neither  conjointly  nor  singlj^  are 
they  in  any  sense  called  God. 

Ver.  8.  A  llon-bachuth. — This  event  was  commemorated  in  the 
name  given  to  an  oak  beneath  Bethel,  which  was  itself  situated 
on  a  height.  We  read,  ch.  xxiv.  59,  that  this  nurse  accompanied 
Rebecca  to  Canaan.  After  Rebecca's  death,  which  is  not  men- 
tioned, she  appears  to  have  taken  charge  of  her  grandchildren. 

Ver  10.  Israel. — The  occasion  of  the  name  being  given  (as 
told,  ch.  xxxii.  29)  is  supposed  to  be  known.  But  God  here 
confirms  the  name,  because  it  was  affixed  as  the  covenant-name 
in  connection  with  the  covenant  now  to  be  made.  Jacob  is 
established  as  successor  to  the  promises  made  to  Abraham,  and 
as  the  inheritor  of  his  blessings. 

Ver.  11.  Nations. — By  "nations"  are  also  to  be  understood 
tlie  smaller  tribes  of  those  days,  which  often  consisted  only  of  a 
few  thousands.     Here  are  meant  the  tribes  of  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  14.  Drinh-ojj'er'ing. — At  most  of  the  sacrifices  there  were 
made  offerings  of  wine.  By  these  were  represented  the  sancti- 
fication  of  drink  to  God  (as  by  the  meat  and  corn-offerings  the 
hallowing  gf  food),  and  at  the  same  time  the  dedication  of  the 


156  GENESIS  XXXV.  15-^7. 

offerers  themselves  to  God's  service.  The  drink-offerings  were 
usually  poured  round  the  altar. 

Ver.  15.  Bethel;  i.e.,  he  solemnly  confirmed  the  old  name. 

Ver  16^  little  way. — About  four  English  miles. 

Ver.  18.  Benjamin. — Rachel,  on  her  deathbed,  named  him 
"  the  Son  of  Sorrow ;"  but  Jacob,  who  did  not  wish  to  have  a 
perpetual  memento  of  the  loss  of  his  beloved  wife,  and  was 
unwilling  that  a  name  of  sorrow  should  cling  to  his  son,  called 
him  "  the  Son  of  my  Right  Hand" — the  right  side  being  the 
fortunate  one.  Perhaps,  too,  there  is  contained  in  the  word  the 
play  on  another  signification  : — "  Jamin"  (Ileb.  Jamim)  means 
in  the  Chaldee  "  Days ;"  and  Jacob  would  thereby  signify  that 
Benjamin  was  the  son  of  his  old  age. 

Yer.  19.  Bethlehem. — "The  House  of  Bread."  Bethlehem  lay 
about  four  English  miles  to  the  south  of  Jerusalem,  in  a  very 
fertile  district.  On  the  way  thither  the  grave  of  Rachel  is  to 
this  day  shown,  over  which  a  Turkish  mosque  is  built. 

Ver.  21.  Edar  means  "The  Tower  of  Flocks."  It  Avas  ori- 
ginally a  watch-tower,  for  the  guarding  and  watching  of  the  herds 
of  cattle.  Afterwards  it  became  a  town,  as  mentioned,  Micah 
iv.  8. 

Ver.  22.  Concubine. — A  grievous  sin,  which  Jacob  afterwards 
punished :  ch.  xlix.  3.  Absalom  committed  the  same  crime, 
with  the  purpose  of  dishonouring  his  father  :  2  Sam.  xvi.  22. 

Heard  it. — There  is  a  mark  here,  dating  from  very  old  times, 
that  somethino;  is  left  out  in  the  text.  The  ancient  Greek 
version  adds,  "  and  it  appeared  evil  to  him."  Perhaps  these  words 
really  stood  in  this  place,  though  it  is  very  possible  the  translator 
might  be  induced  to  add  them,  from  the  mistaken  notion,  that 
something  must  be  left  out,  since  Israel  is  not  said  to  have  pro- 
nounced any  judgment  on  the  crime.  But  rather,  from  the 
significant  circumstance  that  he  hears  of  it  and  yet  is  silent,  one 
is  led  to  expect  a  punishment  to  come.  The  sons  of  Jacob  are 
of  a  wild,  ungovernable  character,  which  their  father  feels  him- 
self too  Aveak  to  keep  under :  cf.  ch.  xlix. 

Twelve. — Here  ends  Jacob's  earlier  history.  In  what  follows, 
Joseph  is  the  main  subject  of  the  narrative.  Hence,  as  at  a 
conclusion,  a  complete  list  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  is  given. 

Ver.  27.  Sojourned. — It  is  not  intended  to  be  said  that  Jacob, 
the  whole  time  he  was  in  Canaan,  had  not  visited  his  father,  who 


GENESIS  XXXVI.  3-20.  157 

was  only  a  few  days'  journey  distant  from  liini ;  but  tliat  in  the 
latter  days  of  his  life  he  went  altogether  into  his  neighbourhood, 
taking  with  him  his  flocks  and  herds. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Ver.  3.  Nehajoth. — Esau's  wives  bear  different  names  here  from 
those  given  in  cli.  xxvi.  34,  and  ch.  xxviii.  9.  The  names  are 
often  changed  in  the  East  on  eventful  occasions,  especially  the 
occasion  of  marriage. 

Ver.  7.  Cattle. — Like  Lot  and  Abram,  ch.  xiii.,  they  lived  a 
lone  time  as  herdsmen  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  land.  We 
find  indeed,  ch.  xxxii.,  that  Jacob  sends  messengers  to  his 
brother  to  the  land  of  Seir,  at  a  time  when  they  had  not  as  yet 
dwelt  together  in  Canaan.  But  it  is  easily  explained  by  sup- 
posing that,  at  that  time,  Esau  had  given  way  to  Jacob,  for  the 
reason  assigned ;  since  he  learnt  from  his  father  Isaac,  that  the 
promised  inheritance  of  Canaan  was  destined  for  Jacob. 

Ver.  8.  Edom. — This  is  often  repeated,  because  Edom  was 
the  name  of  the  southern  neighbours  of  the  Israelites,  who  exer- 
cised an  important  influence  on  that  people. 
Ver.  14.  Daughter;  i.e..,  granddaughter. 

Ver.  15.  Dukes. — The  Hebrew  word  is  "  Alluph,"  which 
means,  properly,  the  chieftain  of  a  thousand  men.  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  peculiar  Edomitish  title. 

Ver.  20.  Ilorite. — The  Ilorites — dwellers  in  caves  (Troglo- 
dytes)— were  the  original  inhabitants  of  Seir,  and  were  driven 
out  by  the  Edomites,  Deut.  ii.  12  ;  but  they  appear  still  to  have 
remained  among  them  in  a  part  of  the  land.  Esau  had  a  Ilorite, 
Aholibamah,  as  his  wife  (ver.  2,  25)  ;  his  son  Eliphaz,  a  Horite, 
Tinnia,  as  a  concubine  (ver.  12,  22),  which  would  mark  a  de- 
clension on  the  part  of  the  Horites.  The  families  of  this  tribe 
arc  mentioned,  because  the  descent  of  Aholibamah  and  Timna 
is  ffiven. — The  Ilorites  derive  their  names  from  the  caves,  manv 
of  them  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  and  from  their  underground 
dwellings.    These  arc  still  to  be  seen  in  great  numbers,  especially 


158  GENESIS  XXXVT.  24,  31. 

aLout  Peti'a.     We  need  not,  however,  regard  them  as  an  utterly 
barbarous  people. 

Ver.  24.  Mxdes. — According  to  the  old  Hebrew  interpreters, 
Avhich  our  version  follows,  Anah  was  the  first  discoverer  of  the 
breed  of  mules.  But  the  obscure  word  which  is  translated 
"mules"  seems  more  properly  to  mean  "hot  springs;"  since, 
without  doubt,  are  here  intended  the  streams  of  the  place,  which 
lies  to  the  south-east  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  was  afterwards  called 
"  Callirhoe."  A  narrow  path  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  on  the  edge 
of  a  precipice,  leads  down  to  a  thicket  of  reeds,  briars,  and  palms, 
in  which  a  number  of  hot  springs  bubble  forth ;  the  water  of 
which,  when  cooled,  is  fit  for  drinking.  According  to  ch.  xxvi. 
34,  the  father  of  one  of  Esau's  wives  was  called  Beeri — i.e.,  man 
of  a  spring,  which  agrees  with  this  account. 

Ver.  31.  Reigned. — As  there  was  no  king  in  Israel  in  Moses' 
time,  and  for  long  after,  this  expression  is  remarkable.  Some 
have  had  recourse  to  a  prophetic  view  on  the  part  of  the  writer 
to  explain  it.  Yet  this  is  by  no  means  necessary  if  we  under- 
stand properly  the  expression.  The  constitution  of  the  Israelites 
under  their  patriarchal  chieftains,  over  whom  Jehovah  was  the 
invisible  King,  presupposed  a  living  adherence  to  the  law  of  God. 
But  in  times  of  falling  away  from  this,  the  republican  govern- 
ment placed  them  at  a  disadvantage  among  their  neighbours, 
and  both  without  and  within  paralysed  the  strength  of  the 
people  as  a  nation  (cf.  Judges  xxi.  25  ;  1  Sam.  viii.  5).  Even 
to  Abraham,  and  afterwards  to  Jacob,  the  glory  of  a  kingly 
power  among  their  descendants  was  promised,  to  which  the 
prophecies  of  a  personal  Saviour  of  the  world  Avere  annexed 
(ch.  xvii.  G,  16,  ch.  xxxv.  11).  But,  before  this  prospect  of  a 
kingdom  to  be  established  in  Israel  was  realised,  Esau's  pos- 
terity, to  whom  no  such  promise  was  accorded,  had  a  long 
succession  of  kings  reigning  over  them,  one  of  whom  is  men- 
tioned in  Num.  xx.  14.  Calvin's  observation  on  this  is  a  very 
excellent  one.  "  We  are  led  here  to  consider  how  those  shut 
out  from  God's  covenant  quickly  blossom,  only  the  more  quickly 
to  wither  away,  like  grass  on  the  house-tops,  which  soon  springs 
up,  but  soon  likewise  fades  away  for  want  of  depth  of  root.  To 
the  two  sons  of  Isaac  was  this  gloiy  promised,  that  kings  should 
be  born  from  them ;  and  they  first  arise  among  the  Edomites, 
while  Israel  appears  to  lag  behind.    But  the  sequel  of  the  history 


GENESIS  XXXVI.  43  ;    XXXVIf.  3-20.  159 

shows  liow  far  better  it  is  to  strike  the  roots  deep  into  the 
i2;rouncl,  than  to  acquire  an  early  but  evanescent  glory.  And  so 
believers,  who  seem  to  move  forwards  but  slowly,  need  not  envy 
the  quick,  joyous  steps  of  others,  who  are  not  as  they,  since  the 
abiding  happiness  which  their  Lord  promises  to  them  is  of  far 
more  value  than  what  these  obtain."  We  gather  from  the  fol- 
lowing record  of  successions,  that  the  Edomitc  kings  were  not 
hereditary,  but  elective  ;  and  their  successful  leaders  in  war  were 
probably  chosen  to  be  kings,  ver.  35.  One  of  these  was  a  native 
of  "  Rchoboth  by  the  river"  {i.e.,  the  Euphrates),  and  con- 
sequently was  a  foreigner  :  ver.  37.  The  same  would  have 
been  the  case  among  the  Israelites,  but  for  the  establishment  of 
the  house  of  Da\id  in  the  royal  dignity.  There  was  hereditary 
monarchy  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  but  of  a  very  irregular  kind. 
Ver.  43.  Edomites ;  or,  of  Edom  :  which  name  Esau  himself 
bore  :  ch.  xxv.  30. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Ver.  3.  A  coat. —  Such  as  was  worn  by  young  persons  of  dis- 
tinction :  2  Sam.  xiii.  18,  19.  Jacob  appears  by  this  to  have 
wished  to  assign  to  Joseph  the  chief  rank  among  his  brethren, 
and  the  rights  of  the  eldest  son,  of  which  Reuben  had  rendered 
himself  unworthy. 

Ver.  10.  Ourselves. — Ilis  father  supposed  the  dream  to  have 
arisen  out  of  his  presumption  and  arrogance ;  indications  of 
which  dispositions,  Jacob,  not  without  reason  perhaps,  thought 
he  perceived  in  his  son. 

Ver.  11.  Observed. — Cf.  St  Luke  ii.  10,  51.  In  spite  of 
Jacob's  perception  and  rebuke  of  the  sin  manifested  in  this  con- 
duct of  Joseph,  he  might  still  suppose  that  some  Divine  revela- 
tion was  contained  in  these  dreams.  This  notion  was  altogether 
dissipated  after  his  belief  of  Joseph's  death ;  still  it  was  not 
altogether  fruitless. 

Ver.  17.  JJothaa  lay  twelve  (English)  miles  north  of  the  town 
(afterwards)  Samaria  (Schonn-on),  which  was  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Sichem,  at  the  entrance  to  the  plain  of  Jezreel. 

Ver.  20.  Fit. — A  cistern,  wide  at  the  bottom,  with  a  narrow 


160  GENESIS  XXX VII.  23-35. 

moutli  to  receive  the  rain  waters.  Such  cisterns  are  often,  after 
a  long  cessation  of  rain,  without  water,  but  filled  with  mud  ;  so 
that  any  one  throAvn  in  would  be  in  a  very  helpless  condition. 
They  were  sometimes  used  as  dungeons :  Jer.  xxxviii.  6,  ch. 
xL  15. 

Ver.  23.  Wilderness. — In  a  pit  on  the  pasture  land,  in  the 
border  of  the  plain  of  Jezreel.  Reuben,  as  the  first-born,  had  a 
kind  of  responsible  oversight  of  his  brethren.  After  they  had 
agreed  to  his  suggestion,  he  withdrew  to  some  other  place,  and 
was  not  present  at  the  proposal  of  Judah  to  sell  Joseph.  So  he 
could  appeal  to  his  innocence,  ch.  xlii.  22. 

Ver.  25.  l^at  bread. — Full  of  satisfaction,  as  if  nothing  had 
happened. 

Egypt. — They  travelled  in  a  large  merchant's  caravan  from 
Gilead,  lying  to  the  east  of  Jordan,  crossing  over  the  river  below 
the  Lake  of  Gennesaret,  through  the  valley  of  Jezreel,  then 
towards  the  sea,  leaving  Hebron,  where  Jacob  dwelt,  to  the  left, 
and  so  along  the  sea-shore  to  Egypt.  The  products  which  they 
took  with  them  are,  in  later  times,  mentioned  as  belonging  to 
the  land  of  Gilead.  We  know  that  from  the  very  earliest  times 
merchant-caravans  were  in  the  habit  of  travelling  into  the  rich 
country  of  Egypt,  and  the  kings  made  especial  arrangements  to 
further  this  traffic. 

Ver.  27.  Content. — Judah  had  just  enough  feeling  of  remorse 
to  keep  him  from  extremities,  but  not  to  restrain  him  from  the 
commission  of  the  sin. 

Ver.  28.  Silver. — The  Ishmaelites — Ishmael's  descendants — 
dwelt  in  Midian,  a  part  of  Ai\abia,  near  ISIount  Sinai ;  therefore 
the  same  people  are  also  called  Midianites.  The  price  was  veiy 
small,  according  to  the  later  value  of  money.  Perhaps  his 
brethren  purposely  would  not  take  a  large  sum,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  reproach  of  having  acted  from  love  of  gain. 

Ver.  34.  Sackcloth  (a  word  found  in  very  many  languages) 
means  in  the  Hebrew  a  thick  haircloth,  such  as  was  used  for 
sieves  and  corn-sacks.  This  was  put  on  in  mourning,  when 
people  Avished  by  the  disfiguring  of  their  outward  persons  to  re- 
present the  distress  of  the  inward  man. 

Ver.  35.  Daughters. — Of  whom,  besides  Dinah,  he  perhaps  had 
several.  Daughters,  when  not  the  subjects  of  any  remarkable 
history,  are  not  enumerated  in  the  genealogical  register. 


GENESIS  XXXVII.  3(5 ;    XXXVIII.  161 

Grave ;  Hcb.,  "  to  Sclieol,"  the  kingdom  of  the  departed,  upon 
the  nature  of  which  very  little  light  was  vouchsafed  in  the  O.  T. 
Only  after  Christ's  appearance,  when  life  and  immortality  were 
brought  to  liiiht,  did  death  become  a  gain  to  the  believer. 

Ver.  3().  Captain. — "  Officer "  means  properly,  in  Heb., 
"  eunuch,"  but  is  also  a  general  name  for  officers  of  the  court. 
Our  margin  gives  the  literal  Hebrew  for  "  ca]:)tain,"  chief  of  the 
executioners — of  the  body-guard — which  will  account  for  the 
circumstance  that  the  prison  was  in  his  house. 


CHAPTER  XXXVni. 

The  sacred  narrative  here  mentions  an  event  in  the  life  of 
Judah,  the  head  of  a  tribe  destined  to  such  great  things  (ch. 
xlix.  8-12),  which  was  much  to  his  discredit.  This  history  pre- 
pares the  way  for  the  genealogical  table,  ch.  xlvi.  12  ;  and,  as 
Joseph  was  sold  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  Judah's  sons,  must 
be  inserted  here.  We  see  in  this  story  how  one  interest — that 
for  their  families,  and  the  preservation  of  them — overpowered 
every  other  feeling,  even  the  sense  of  shame  in  a  woman.  The 
sanctity  of  an  ancient  descent,  as  it  had  been  brought  out  of 
Mesopotamia  by  Abraham's  posterity,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  duties  of  the  brother-in-law  (the  Levirate,  from  a  Latin  word, 
levir,  a  husband's  brother),  are  forcibly  put  forth  by  this  nar- 
rative. The  law  was,  that  when  a  widow  was  left  childless,  it 
was  the  brother's  duty  to  marry  the  widow,  and  the  first-born 
son  of  this  marriage  was  to  be  regarded  as  the  child  of  the 
deceased  brother.  The  purport  of  the  laws  of  the  Israelites  on 
the  subject  (no  doubt  derived  from  the  patriarchs),  was  to  pre- 
serve as  much  as  possible  the  heirs  in  a  direct  line.  The  father 
lived  in  the  son — the  whole  family  descended  from  him  was  in  a 
certain  sense  himself.  And  in  early  times  religion  and  morality 
depended  on  the  preservation  of  the  tradition  in  families,  through 
which  they  were  handed  down.  They  we  -c  not  so  much  the 
affair  of  individuals,  as  of  families  and  the  pe(>])le.  As  afterwards 
out  of  Jacob's  house  a  nation  arose,  this  duty  of  the  brother-in- 
law  entailed  much  mischief;  and  yet,  though  he  was  not  coni- 

L 


162  GENESIS  XXXVIir.  2-14. 

pelled  to  fulfil  the  claim,  the  neglect  was  followed  by  the  inflic- 
tion of  a  public  disgrace :  Deut.  xxv.  5 ;  Ruth  iv.  7 ;  cf.  St 
Matt.  xxii.  23. 

Although  the  way  in  which  Tamar  avenged  herself  was  a 
shameful  one,  yet  still,  from  the  prevailing  view  of  this  ancient 
family  right,  the  scandal  rested  more  with  Judah — who  neglected, 
from  an  unfounded  suspicion,  to  fulfil  the  duty  of  keeping  up 
his  family — than  with  herself.  This,  on  God's  part,  is  confirmed 
by  the  birth  of  two  sons,  as  this  unwonted  blessing  showed  that 
Er  and  Onan  had  died  as  a  punishment  for  their  disobedience  ; 
at  the  same  time,  the  difficulty  of  the  birth,  and  the  remarkable 
circumstances  which  attended  it,  indicate  the  sin  of  the  mode  in 
which  Tamar  gained  her  end.  And  Judah's  avoidance  of 
further  intercourse  with  her  proves  that,  even  in  those  days,  the 
act  was  regarded  as  incestuous. 

Ver.  2.  Shuali. — This  marriage  is  not  here  reprehended,  since 
it  was  impossible  that  all  Jacob's  sons  could  take  wives  from 
among  their  kinsfolk  in  Mesopotamia.  But  the  right  of  the 
brother's  widow  was  scarcely  a  Canaanitish  one,  but  peculiar  to 
the  patriarchs. 

Ver.  5.  Chezib. — He  was  absent  in  the  place  Chezib,  which 
is  mentioned,  Joshua  xv.  44,  as  belonging  to  the  possessions  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  in  Canaan.  Perhaps  the  circumstance  of  his 
absence  is  here  spoken  of  because  this  son  was  on  that  account 
the  dearer  to  him. 

Ver.  9.  Onan. — The  sinfulness  of  the  act  consisted  not  merely 
in  the  shameful  abuse  of  his  members,  but,  above  all,  in  the 
frustration  of  the  Divine  purpose  of  continuing  his  family. 

Ver.  11.  Brethren. — The  early  premature  death  of  the  two 
might  well  have  suggested  the  thought  of  a  Divine  act  of  judg- 
ment on  the  family  of  the  patriarch.  But  Judah,  a  carnally- 
minded  man,  thinks  rather  of  some  fault  on  the  part  of  Tamar, 
probably  from  some  kind  or  other  of  superstitious  notion. 

Ver.  12.  Comforted. — The  death  of  Judah's  wife  is  mentioned, 
because  with  it  his  duty  commenced  to  give  Tamar  in  marriage, 
if  he  did  not  wish  to  bestow  her  on  his  son.  Tamar  compelled 
him  by  her  artifice  to  the  fulfilment  of  this  duty. 

Sheep-shearers. — To  keep  the  sheep-shearing  feast. 

Ver.  14.  Wife. — A  wrong  on  the  part  of  Judah,  as  she  could 
not  marry  another. 


GENESIS  XXXVIII.  24-30  ;   XXXIX.  163 

Ver.  24.  Burnt. — As  head  of  his  family  and  judge  in  liis 
house,  Judah  will  cause  death,  the  punishment  of  adultery,  to  be 
executed  on  her.  As  the  betrothed  of  Shelah,  Tamar  is  looked 
on  in  the  light  of  a  wife.  According  to  the  Mosaic  law,  such  an 
one  was  stoned  :  Dcut.  xxii.  21. 

Ver.  26.  More  r'ujJdeous ;  i.e.,  she  is  right,  and  I  am  wrong; 
or,  at  least,  the  wrong  she  had  committed  he  could  not  bring 
against  her,  since  he  had  in  the  first  place  neglected  his  duty, 
and  then  himself  committed  a  sin  as  regards  herself. 

No  more. — By  which  he  showed  that  the  connection  with  the 
daughter-in-law  was  in  those  times  regarded  as  sinful. 

Ver.  29.  Pharez  :  "  breach." — Cases  of  similar  twin-births  have 
already  occurred.  The  first  child  has  a  wrong  position,  because 
the  hand  comes  first  instead  of  the  head ;  and  this  child  beinf>: 
drawn  in,  the  second  is  born  first,  and  so,  in  fact,  the  last-born  is 
the  eldest.  In  reading  this  account,  and  what  is  said  in  it,  we 
must  bear  in  mind  the  great  privileges  attached  to  the  first-born. 

Ver.  30.  Zarah. — "  Rising ; "  which  is  especially  used  of  the 
sun.  The  name  is  here  given  to  signify  the  first  coming  forth  of 
the  elder. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

An  important  move  in  the  development  of  God's  plan  of 
salvation  is  now  about  to  take  place.  The  house  of  Jacob,  as 
had  been  many  years  before  foretold  to  Abraham  (ch.  xv.  13), 
is  about  to  sojourn  in  a  strange  land,  far  away  from  the  Land  of 
Promise.  Jacob's  numerous  family  could  not  any  longer  dwell 
among  the  Canaanites  without  either  dispersing,  and  so  losing 
their  unity  and  independence,  or  else  coming  into  collision  with 
the  inhabitants.  The  sons  of  Jacob  could  not  as  a  whole  have 
maintained  possession  of  the  land.  To  prepare  them  for  their 
future  destiny,  it  was  necessary  for  the  Israelites  to  grow  up  and 
become  a  nation  in  the  midst  of  the  most  cultivated  people  of 
the  world  at  that  time — to  be  closely  united  with  this  people, 
and  partakers  of  all  its  advantages;  and  yet  never  mixed  with 
the  Eg3^ptians,  but  widely  severed  from  them. 

Although  God  vouchsafed  to  the  patriarchs  the  widest  views 


164  GENESIS  XXXIX.  5,  7. 

into  the  distant  future,  He  scarcely  allowed  them  to  see  a  few 
steps  before  them  in  their  immediate  way.  They  knew  that  the 
salvation  of  the  whole  world  should  proceed  from  them,  and  that 
God's  purposes  with  them  were  the  greatest  imaginable ;  yet 
could  they  not  guess  at  the  meaning  of  the  great  and  momen- 
tous events  which  occurred  in  their  daily  lives.  So  must  it  be, 
in  order  that  their  faith  might  be  roused,  their  mental  vision  ex- 
ercised and  proved  by  looking  forward  to  the  greatest  and 
noblest  object,  at  the  same  time  that  their  human  sinfulness  and 
shortsightedness  were  not  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  wise 
means  for  attaining  that  end  chosen  by  God's  grace. — Joseph 
was  called  in  Egypt  "  the  Hebrew,"  one  of  Heber's  descendants, 
who,  coming  from  the  Euphrates,  had  settled  as  nomads  among 
the  Canaanitish  nations.  In  Egypt,  Joseph  served  the  Lord 
(Jehovah)  his  God,  ver.  3.  Potiphar,  though  he  perceived  that 
he  did  not  take  part  in  the  Egyptian  idolatrous  worship,  found 
that  he  was  blessed  by  his  God,  and  Joseph  adorned  his  confes- 
sion of  the  true  God  by  genuine  fidelity  and  wisdom. 

The  better  to  understand  the  following  narrative,  we  must 
bear  in  mind  the  ages  of  Jacob  and  Joseph  at  the  time.  Jacob 
was,  when  presented  to  Pharaoh,  130  years  old  (ch.  xlix.  9)  ; 
Joseph,  when  introduced  to  the  king,  30  years  (ch.  xli.  46)  :  be- 
tween these  two  periods  had  intervened  the  seven  plentiful  and 
two  of  the  famine  years.  Joseph  was  therefore  39  when  Jacob 
was  130.  He  was  born  when  Jacob  was  91.  At  that  time 
Jacob  had  served  the  14  years'  service  for  Eachel  and  Leah 
(ch.  XXX.  25)  :  he  was  therefore  77  when  he  came  to  Laban — 
allowing  for  the  diiference  in  length  of  life,  about  middle  age  of 
our  time.  Joseph  came  into  Egypt  soon  after  he  was  17  (ch. 
xxxvii.  2) ;  he  was  thirteen  years  in  Potiphar's  service  and  in 
prison — of  these,  more  than  two  in  prison  (ch.  xli.  1):  he  was 
therefore  something  past  his  twenty-fifth  year  during  the  events 
of  this  chapter. 

Ver.  5.  Overseer. — It  was  a  custom  among  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians to  place  a  steward  over  every  large  family,  who  had  the 
control  of  all  the  servants. 

Ver.  7.  Lie  ivith  me. — We  know  from  the  testimony  of  the 
ancients  that  Egypt,  at  least  in  later  times,  was  a  land  fearfully 
corrupt,  in  which  prevailed  every  kind  of  sensuality,  and  especi- 
ally adultery.     Herodotus  tells  a  story  of  Pheron,  son  of  Sesos- 


GENESIS  XXXIX.  9-23.  165 

tris,  who  was  to  gain  the  use  of  his  sight  again  by  the  touch  of  a 
woman  who  had  never  been  unfaithful  to  her  husband,  and  could 
only  find  one,  whom  he  immediately  made  his  wife  (Herod., 
B.  ii.  111).  The  Egyptian  women  lived  for  the  most  part  sepa- 
rated from  the  men,  as  is  usual  with  the  sex  in  the  rest  of  the 
East,  but  they  came  together  in  the  intercourse  and  different  re- 
lations of  life. 

Ver.  9.  Against  God. — Joseph  abhors  and  shuns  the  sin  from 
obedience  to  God's  laws.  The  trust  of  his  master  comes  in  as  an 
additional  motive  to  restrain  him  from  the  sin. 

Ver.  20.  Prison. — In  Egypt  the  influence  of  the  woman  was 
greater  in  the  house  than  that  of  the  man ;  so  Potiphar  is,  in  a 
certain  sense,  compelled  to  comply  with  his  wife's  demand. 
Joseph's  master,  as  captain  of  the  eunuchs,  who  are  the  ministers 
of  all  executions,  is  also  overseer  of  the  king's  prison  ;  and  there- 
fore places  there  his  slave,  over  whom  he  has  the  power  of  life 
and  death.  He  does  not,  however,  concern  himself  any  further 
about  him,  but  delivers  him  over  to  the  "  keeper  of  the  prison," 
who,  under  himself,  had  the  oversight  of  the  particular  prisoners. 

Ver.  23.  Prosjyer. — The  Lord  rewards  immediately  Joseph's 
faith  with  the  richest  blessing,  so  that  in  his  need  he  still  feels 
himself  to  be  in  God's  grace  and  favour.  Nevertheless  His  trials 
of  him  still  continue ;  and  not  the  least  of  these  certainly  was 
this,  that  a  man  so  distinguished  as  Joseph,  who  felt  himself 
called  to  great  things,  was  nevertheless  obliged  to  pass  years,  as 
overseer  of  the  prison,  in  the  greatest  obscurity.  But  thus  do 
we  perceive  that  God  often  deals  with  His  greatest  instruments : 
so  did  He  with  Moses,  with  David,  with  Paul,  with  Luther — 
nay,  the  Son  of  God  Himself  lived  to  his  thirtieth  year  at  Naza- 
reth. Nothing  is  more  displeasing  to  God  than  that  impatient 
distrust  of  His  power  which  interferes  wilfully  with  the  plans  of 
His  providence. 


166  GENESIS  XL.  4-16  ;   XLI. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

Ver.  4.  Served  them ;  i.e.,  lie  appointed  that  Joseph  should 
always  attend  on  them,  to  render  them  what  services  they  re- 
quired, not  that  he  should  be  placed  over  them.  The  chief 
butler  and  chief  baker  were  high  court  officers,  and  therefore 
were  treated  with  more  respect  than  the  rest.  The  choice  of 
Joseph]  to  serve  them  was  a  favour  shown  to  him.  This  insig- 
nificant circumstance  had  great  influence  on  his  destiny. 

Ver.  8.  Interpreter. — They  had  narrated  to  each  other  their 
dreams  ;  and  from  many  concurring  circumstances,  and  by  the 
relation  of  the  dreams  to  their  office,  they  concluded  that  they 
were  full  of  significance,  but  whether  boding  good  or  ill  they 
knew  not. 

Ver.  11.  Pharaolis  hand. — The  imagery  of  the  dream  is  alto- 
gether Egyptian.  The  Egyptians,  even  to  very  late  times, 
drank  no  wine,  as  they  esteemed  it  the  blood  of  Demons ;  but 
the  kings  and  priests  drank  a  moderate  quantity  of  the  juice  of 
the  grape  without  having  been  fermented. 

Ver.  15.  Stolen. — He  specifies  only  in  general  terms  the 
secret  violent  mode  of  his  abduction,  but  does  not  narrate  the 
particulars  for  his  brethren's  sake. 

Ver.  16.  Head. — The  Egyptian  men  carried  the  burdens  on 
their  heads,  the  women  on  their  shoulders,  as  Herodotus  tells  us. 
Shallow  baskets  borne  on  the  head  are  to  be  seen  often  depicted 
in  Egyptian  monuments. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

The  important  occurrence  which  was  to  exercise  so  great  an 
influence  on  the  fate  of  Joseph  and  his  family,  and  was  of  such 
moment  in  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  is  brought  about 
by  a  dream.  AVe  must  bear  in  mind  the  great  significance 
which,  among  the  ancients,  was  attached  to  the  dreams  of  kings. 


GENESIS  XLI.  1-42.  167 

Nestor  says  in  Homer,  Iliad  2,  80,  "  Had  any  other  of  the 
Achseans  told  us  the  dream,  we  might  have  looked  on  it  as  a 
delusion  ;  but  he  has  seen  the  vision  who  is  the  greatest  of  all, 
etc."  The  dream  itself  is  clothed  in  striking  Egyptian  emblem- 
atic figures.  Egypt  is  the  offspring  of  the  Nile.  The  fertility 
of  the  land  is  yearly  renewed  by  its  overflowings.  The  cow  is  a 
very  ancient  emblem  of  the  land,  and  of  the  earth  generally, 
and  was  worshipped  among  the  Egyptians  as  the  goddess  Isis. 
The  Nile,  Osiris,  is  honoured  under  the  form  of  a  bull.  The 
fruitfulness  or  unfruitfulness  of  a  year  is  represented,  therefore, 
under  the  image  of  a  cow  rising  out  of  the  river,  the  source  of 
blessing  to  all  around.  The  seven  ears  from  one  stalk  point  to 
the  great  fertility  of  Egypt,  where  such  a  phenomenon  occasion- 
ally, though  rarely,  occurs.  If  Pharaoh's  residence  was  at  Zoan 
or  Tanis,  in  North-East  Egypt,  then  the  scorching  east  wind, 
coming  from  the  Arabian  Desert,  would  be  an  emblem  of  famine 
beyond  the  power  of  the  river  to  overcome,  as  in  the  first  dream 
were  the  lean  kine.  The  agreement  of  the  two  dreams  in  the 
number  seven,  and  their  internal  resemblance,  filled  Pharaoh 
with  the  feeling  that  they  were  of  pressing  moment,  and  thus 
they  became  the  occasion  of  the  greatest  events. 

Ver.  1.  R'lcer. — Lit.,  "on  the  Jeor,"  which  is  the  Hebrew  name 
for  the  Nile. 

Ver.  14.  Dungeon. — Lit.,  "  the  pit."  It  was  apparently  a 
subterranean  dungeon":  so  the  word  also  stands,  ch.  xl.  15 ;  Jer. 
xxxvii.  16,  ch.  xxxviii.  6. 

Ver.  25.  God. — Lit.,  "God  will  answer  the  peace  of  Pharaoh." 
The  expression  "  the  Lord  "  (Jehovah)  is  never  used  in  speak- 
ing to  heathens.  The  belief  in  one  God,  which  lies  at  the  bot- 
tom of  all  idolatrous  religions — more  evidently  is  this  the  case 
with  the  religions  of  the  most  ancient  times — is  always  presup- 
posed by  the  servants  of  the  true  God  to  exist  among  heathens. 

Ver.  37.  Good. — This  power  of  diving  into  the  meaning  of 
images  and  figures  which  were  familiar  and  frequent  among 
themselves,  made  a  great  impression  on  the  Egyptians.  It  was 
remarkable  in  a  foreigner. 

Ver.  42.  Rbuj. — All  persons  of  distinction  in  the  East  wear  a 
seal-ring  on  the  finger,  or  round  the  neck. 

Linen. — Ilcb. :  "Schesch;"  i.e.,  Byssas,  the  finest  white 
linen.     It  would  appear  from  this  that  Pharaoh  enrolled  him  into 


1 68  GENESIS  XLI.  43,  45. 

the  priestly  caste,  or  the  rank  next  after  it.  Herodotus  tells  us 
(B.  2,  37),  "  The  priests  shave  themselves  every  third  day,  that 
no  vermin  or  other  insect  may  be  on  them  when  they  minister 
before  the  gods.  The  priests  vs^ear  only  linen  clothing  and  shoes 
of  byblus  (the  inner  bark  of  the  papyrus).  They  are  not  allowed 
to  put  on  any  other  kind  of  clothing  or  of  shoes."  All  Egyptians 
of  note  wore  golden  chains  on  their  necks. 

Ver.  43.  Bote  the  knee.— hit.,  "  shall  call  out  Abrek."  This 
is  probably  an  Egyptian  (Coptic)  word,  properly  Aperek — i.e., 
"  bow  the  head."  Out  of  it  is  a  Hebrew  word  made,  which  sig- 
nifies "bow  the  knee."  The  person  who  called  out  would  thereby 
remind  the  people  that  the  outward  reverence,  next  to  that  paid 
the  king,  was  to  be  shown  to  Joseph. 

Ver.  45.  Zaphnath-paaneah. — This  word,  converted  into  a 
Hebrew  term  to  express  "  a  revealer  of  secrets,"  is  certainly 
Egyptian,  as  it  was  Joseph's  Egyptian  name,  which  was  given 
him  when  he  was  received  into  the  rank  or  caste  of  the  Egyptian 
priests.  The  ancient  Greek  translation  of  the  Septuagint,  which 
was  made  in  Egypt,  and  usually  renders  the  Egyptian  words  and 
things  very  accurately,  has  here  the  word  "  Psonthomphanech," 
which  almost  exactly  answers  to  the  Coptic  "  Psotomphaneh," 
signifying  "  the  preserver  of  the  world,"  or  "  of  the  land — king- 
dom." Joseph  thus  received  a  name  which,  by  a  little  alteration, 
was  made  by  Moses  to  form  the  Hebrew  word  which  expressed 
what  now  occurred. 

On  means  "the  sun."  It  was  the  town  called  Heliopolis 
by  the  Greeks.  The  marriage  of  Joseph  was  a  part  of  his  exalta- 
tion in  rank.  In  a  country  under  a  despotic  form  of  govern- 
ment, where  the  king's  power  is  only  circumscribed  by  the  laws 
and  customs  of  religion  and  of  the  priestly  class,  the  sudden 
elevation  of  a  slave  to  the  highest  honour — especially  if  he  is  be- 
lieved to  be  endowed  with  some  supernatural  gifts — is  nothing 
extraordinary.  Such  events  happen  even  at  this  day  in  eastern 
despotisms — nay,  even  in  Russia.  Herodotus  tells  us  of  a  similar 
exaltation  of  a  Moor  by  king  Rhampsinatus  to  be  his  son-in-law, 
because,  as  the  Egyptians  excel  the  rest  of  the  world  in  cunning, 
so  he  excelled  the  Egyptians  :  vide  Herod,  ii.  120.  The  greater 
marvel  is,  that  we  see  Joseph  in  his  exaltation  maintain  the  fear 
of  God,  the  conscientiousness,  and  mild,  gentle  disposition  which 
he  had  learnt  in  his  adversity. 


GENESIS  XLI.  52  ;    XLII.  1G9 

Ver.  52.  Ephraim. — Lit.,  "Bring  forth  a  double  blossom" — in 
allusion,  perhaps,  to  his  being  the  second  son. 

Affliction, — Egypt  remains,  even  in  his  elevation,  still  "  the 
land  of  his  affliction,"  as  it  became  to  his  family  the  land  of  refuge 
only  in  their  necessity.  We  see  in  this  expression  of  Joseph's 
a  mark  of  his  still  longing  after  the  Land  of  Promise. 


CHAPTER  XLIL 

The  famine  now  extends  beyond  Egypt  and  its  immediate 
vicinity,  and  thereby  becomes  the  means,  in  God's  hand,  of  bring- 
ing down  the  family  of  the  patriarchs  to  Egypt,  in  a  way  little 
contemplated. 

The  overflowing  of  the  Nile,  the  source  of  Egypt's  fertility,  is 
caused  by  the  tropical  rains  which  fall  in  the  Abyssinian  moun- 
tain district  and  the  interior  of  Ethiopia,  with  which  we  are  un- 
acquainted. These  rains  put  the  valleys  of  those  extensive  high- 
lands under  water,  which  flows  thence  into  the  basin  of  the  Nile ; 
and  the  single  channel  of  this  river,  charged  with  this  vast 
stream — the  produce  of  a  large  district  of  220  geographical  miles 
in  length — passes  through  Egypt  to  the  sea.  The  reason  of  the 
greater  and  less  swelling  of  the  river  is  common  to  Egypt  and 
the  neighbouring  countries.  The  great  heat  of  Egypt,  Nubia, 
and  Ethiopia,  during  the  later  spring  months,  when  the  sun  is 
right  over  those  regions,  and  the  expansion  of  the  heated  atmo- 
sphere, cause  the  colder  streams  of  air  and  the  clouds  to  pour  in 
from  the  north  (the  Mediterranean  Sea)  in  order  to  restore  the 
equilibrium.  This  is  the  physical  cause,  which  is  again  itself 
altogether  dependent  on  the  course  of  the  sun  and  the  stars 
(Ritter  Geog.  i.  835).  When  the  mass  of  clouds  from  the  north 
is  less,  there  is  a  smaller  fall  of  rain  ;  and  this  affects  equally 
Egypt  and  the  adjacent  countries. 

AVhen  we  consider  Joseph's  conduct  to  his  brethren  as  a 
whole,  we  see  that  this  God-fearing,  conscientious,  and  affection- 
ate man  was  actuated  by  no  spirit  of  revenge  towards  them. 
His  object  was  to  prove  them,  whether  they  were  still  the  same 
cruel,  treacherous  men  as  before.     The  assertion,  that  they  were 


170  GENESIS  XLII.  3-14. 

ten  brethren,  was  in  itself  startling,  and  might  well  lead  to  the 
inquiry  which  brought  about  the  mention  of  Benjamin.  Joseph 
might,  not  unreasonably,  suspect  that  from  envy  they  had  dealt 
with  this  youngest  brother  as  they  had  done  with  himself.  By 
causing  their  money  to  be  returned  in  their  sacks,  he  wished 
both  to  make  a  present  to  his  father,  and  to  prick  their  con- 
science on  account  of  their  former  crime.  They  feel  that  God's 
hand  is  in  this.  So  may  we  explain  Joseph's  conduct,  without 
supposing  he  had  forgotten  the  fear  of  God  or  love  to  his  breth- 
ren, even  though  we  cannot  altogether  excuse  the  mixture  of 
cunning  and  artifice  which  is  displayed  in  it. 

Ver.  3.  Buy  corn. — In  a  like  case,  Abraham  went  down  to 
Egypt  with  all  that  he  had.  Jacob's  family  do  not  the  same — 
either  because  the  journey  was  too  long  for  such  a  family,  or 
rather  because  the  famine  prevailed  in  Egypt,  and  corn  could 
only  be  procured  by  purchase  from  the  stores  laid  in  by  Pharaoh. 
Ver.  4.  Mischief. — A  kind  of  presentiment  that  Joseph's 
brethren  were  not  altogether  guiltless  in  respect  to  his  disap- 
pearance, runs  through  Jacob's  words  in  this  account.  He 
knew  their  envy  of  Joseph,  and  had  had  some  experience  of  the 
violent  character  of  Simeon  and  Levi. 

Ver.  6.  Sold. — Certainly  not  himself,  but  by  the  hands  of  in- 
ferior officers.  But  this  case,  in  which  ten  men  from  a  foreign 
land  desired  to  purchase  (apparently)  a  large  quantity,  required 
to  be  laid  before  him  for  his  personal  decision. 

Ver.  8.  Knew. — About  20  years  had  elapsed  since  they  had 
sold  him.  It  was  very  natural  that  he  should  recognise  them, 
but  that  they  know  not  him.  His  whole  appearance  was  changed  : 
he  was  shorn,  as  was  usual  with  the  priestly  class,  wore  mag- 
nificent clothing,  and  spake  to  them  by  an  interpreter. 

Ver.  9.  Rememhered. — The  literal  fulfilment  of  his  dreams 
came  forcibly  before  his  mind.  He  was  vividly  impressed  with 
a  feeling  of  wonder  at  the  wisdom,  might,  and  love  which  had 
so  marvellously  brought  about  the  Divine  promises. 

Ver.  12.  Nakedness. — Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  this 
charge  to  be  made  against  travellers  in  the  East  in  the  present 
day,  especially  if  they  take  any  note  or  plan  of  the  countries. 

Ver.  14.  Spies. — The  improbability  of  their  assertion,  that  they 
are  ten  brethren — the  strangeness  of  their  appearance,  resem- 
bling  each  other  indeed,  but  utterly  unlike   the  rest  of  the 


GENESIS  XLII.  16-36.  171 

Canaanites, — all  this  gives  Joseph  a  plea  for  repeating  his  accu- 
sation more  positively.  At  the  same  time,  when  they  mentioned 
Benjamin,  about  whose  fate  he  was  anxious,  he  seizes  the  oppor- 
tunity of  proving  them,  and  of  gratifying  his  yearning  to  see  his 
brother. 

Ver.  16.  Life  of  Pharaoh. — An  usual  adjuration  among  the 
Egyptians. 

Ver.  17.  Tliree  days. — To  give  them  a  sort  of  trial  of  what 
they  had  deserved,  and  to  awaken  the  feeling  of  repentance 
in  their  minds.  This  severity  on  Joseph's  part  M"as  certainly 
more  wholesome  to  his  brethren,  and  more  conducive  to  the 
object  he  had  in  view,  than  if  he  had  pardoned  them  at  once 
without  any  taste  of  punishment. 

Ver.  18.  Fear  God;  i.e.,  Ye  may  rely  on  my  fear  of  God,  that 
if  ye  will  deal  honestly  with  me,  ye  shall  find  me  neither  false  nor 
arbitrary.  Pic  mitigates  the  threat  which  he  had  at  first  made, 
by  requiring  that  only  one  should  remain  as  prisoner. 

Ver.  21.  Guilty. — The  dealings  of  Providence  were  so  evident 
to  the  brethren,  that  they  were  impressed  with  the  conviction  of 
God's  retributive  justice  in  what  happened  to  them. 

Ver.  24.  Wept. — Moved  by  the  thought  of  God's  wonderful 
preservation,  as  well  as  by  the  distress  of  his  brethren. 

Simeon,  the  instigator  of  the  cruel  deed  against  Shechem,  may 
Avell  be  supposed  to  have  had  the  greatest  share  of  guilt  in  the 
selling  of  Joseph. 

Ver.  28. — From  all  that  has  now  happened  to  them,  they  are 
so, impressed  with  a  sense  of  Divine  retribution,  that  they  can 
think  of  no  natural  causes,  but  only  of  a  direct  punishment  from 
God.  Under  this  harassino;  feelino;,  thev  omit  to  look  into  the 
other  sacks. 

Ver.  3G.  Joseph. — He  seems,  with  a  feeling  of  presentiment, 
to  accuse  them  of  this  likewise. 


172  GENESIS  XLTIl.  2-11. 


CHAPTEE  XLIII. 

Ver.  2.  Eaten  up. — Probably  only  the  members  of  Jacob's 
family  partook  of  the  corn  brought  out  of  Egypt.  The  slaves 
would  be  obliged  to  support  themselves  from  roots,  vegetables, 
and  milk. 

Ver.  9.  Blame,  and  the  punishment. 

Ver.  11.  Fruits. — Literally  :  "  from  the  song  of  the  land ;"  i.e., 
those  things  by  reason  of  which  our  land  is  celebrated  in  song. 

Almonds. — We  see  here  for  what  productions  Palestine  was 
distinguished  in  most  ancient  times,  and  what  things  it  exported 
into  the  neighbouring  lands.  Three  of  the  kinds  of  produce 
here  named  occur  among  those  which  the  caravan  of  the  Ish- 
meelites  carried  into  Egypt:  see  ch.  xxxvii.  25.  The  first  is 
"  Zori,"  balsam — a  product  in  ancient  times  considered  pe- 
culiarly to  belong  to  Palestine  (from  the  Zacchum  plant). 
"  The  balsam  is  a  moderately  high  shrub  :  as  soon  as  the  bough 
begins  to  swell,  if  iron  is  forcibly  applied,  the  veins  shrink ;  but 
they  can  be  opened  by  a  broken  stone  or  potsherd,  and  the  juice 
is  used  by  physicians."  So  says  Tacitus,  Hist.  B.  v.  6.  And 
Pliny,  Nat.  Hist.  12,  25  :  "  The  Emperor  Vespasian  first  showed 
this  shrub  in  the  city  of  Rome  (it  is  worth  remark,  that  since  the 
time  of  Pompey  we  have  used  boughs  of  trees  in  triumphs).  It 
serves  us,  and  pays  tribute  like  its  people.  It  resembles  the 
vine  more  than  the  myrtle.  It  spreads  over  the  hills  by  its 
shoots,  like  the  vine,  and  does  not  require  any  props.  The  leaf  is 
oval,  and  always  green.  The  Jews  have  raged  against  it,  as  they 
have  against  their  own  life  ;  the  Romans  have  defended  it,  and 
a  single  tree  has  cost  a  combat.  It  is  now  planted  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  treasury;  and  never  was  it  more  abundant  or 
larger.  The  juice,  which  flows  from  the  incision  made  by  glass, 
stone,  or  bone,  is  called  opobalsam,  and  yields  a  delicious  per- 
fume; but  the  drops  trickle  only  scantily,  and  are  collected  on  wool 
in  small  horn  vessels." — Further,  "  D'basch,"  honey.  This  is 
probably  not  bee  honey,  which  is  neither  a  costly  present  nor 
rare  in  Egypt,  but  a  thickened  kind  of  grape-juice,  which,  even 
in  modern  times,  is  carried  to  the  amount  of  hundreds  of  camel 


GENESIS  XLIII.  29,  32.  173 

loads  from  the  district  of  Hebron  to  the  Eg}q)tians,  who  are 
poorer  in  vine  produce.  It  is  called  to  this  day  Dibs.  Next, 
"  N'koth " — a  kind  of  gum  from  the  Tragakantli  or  goat's 
thorn  shrub  (a  low  kind  of  shrub  growing  on  Lebanon),  and 
used  for  smoking,  or  in  medicine.  "  Lot,"  ladanum— a  sweet, 
green,  soft,  and  rich  resin  on  the  branches  of  the  cistus  rose, 
which  in  early  morning  attaches  itself  to  the  goats'  beards,  and 
is  useful  in  medicine,  outwardly  or  inwardly  appled.  "  Botnim" — 
long  angular  nuts  from  a  tree  like  the  terebinth,  about  the  size  of 
a  hazel-nut,  whose  oily  sweet-smelling  kernel  was  much  prized 
by  the  ancients,  and  reckoned  an  antidote  to  the  bite  of  ser- 
pents. "  Sch'kedim"  are  almonds,  in  which  Palestine  was  very 
rich. 

Ver.  29.  Mij  son. — According  to  ch.  xlvi.  21,  Benjamin  had 
ten  sons  (no  doubt,  from  several  wives)  at  the  time  the  family 
went  down  to  Egypt,  and  was  indeed  only  seven  years  younger 
than  Joseph — therefore  thirty-two  years  old.  This  term  is, 
rather,  the  kind  expression  of  a  superior,  than  any  allusion  to 
Benjamin's  youth.  The  words  contain  not  so  much  a  particular 
blessing,  but  are  rather  an  usual  form  of  friendly  salutation  in 
the  East. 

Ver.  32.  Abomination. — We  have  here  a  representation  of  the 
manner  of  the  Egyptian  castes.  Joseph,  as  belonging  to  the 
priestly  class,  eats  separate  from  the  other  Egyptians,  apart  from 
both  the  brethren.  The  reason  of  this  separation  (as  at  present 
amons  the  Hindoos)  lay  in  the  fact,  that  foreigners  and  the  in- 
ferior castes  killed  and  ate  beasts  which  were  sacred  among  the 
Egyptians  ;  so  says  Herodotus,  B.  ii.  41 :  "  Isis  is  represented 
with  the  horns  of  a  cow;  and  therefore  all  the  Egyptians 
honour  the  cow  more  than  the  sheep.  For  this  reason,  an 
Egyptian  man  or  woman  would  hardly  kiss  a  Greek  on  the 
mouth,  or  use  his  knife,  or  spit,  or  basin ;  nor  will  he  taste  of 
the  flesh  of  a  clean  cow  which  has  been  cut  with  a  Greek  knife." 
Whereupon  he  tells  us  how  they  bury  with  the  greatest  care 
bulls  and  other  cattle,  and,  after  the  flesh  has  rotted,  lay  the 
bones  in  a  particular  place.  In  all  this  is  shown  the  blind 
worship  of  Nature  among  the  Egyptians,  who,  forsaking  the 
living  personal  God,  honoured  certain  beasts,  as  representatives 
and  incarnations  of  the  highest  powers  of  Nature.  Joseph  could 
partake  in  much  of  their  customs  as  indifferent  and  external ; 


174  GENESIS  XLIII.  34;   XLIV.  5-16. 

but  their  after  history  will  show  us  the  great  danger  the  Israelites 
incurred  from  their  sojourn  among  the  Egyptians. 

Ver.  34.  Five  times. — The  ancients  ate  not  all  out  of  one  dish  ; 
but  each  received  his  own,  which  was  distributed  to  him  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  the  host.  From  the  dishes  which  stood  on  his 
own  table,  Joseph  commanded  five  times  as  much  to  be  given  to 
Benjamin  as  to  the  others. 

Merry. — This  is  not  to  be  taken  in  a  bad  sense,  as  his  brethren 
would  not  give  themselves  up  to  unrestrained  mirth  in  the 
presence  of  Joseph. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

Ver.  5.  Divineili. — The  divining  out  of  cups  (chilicomantia) 
is  a  kind  of  soothsaying,  mentioned  by  the  ancients  as  practised 
by  the  Egyptians.  The  soothsayer  drew  his  auguries  either 
from  the  rays  of  light  which  played  upon  the  water  in  the  cup, 
or  threw  in  pieces  of  gold  and  silver  with  jewels,  and  then  pre- 
tended to  see  signs  of  future  events  from  the  figures  which 
appeared  on  the  surface,  after  an  incantation  had  been  pro- 
nounced. As  the  expression  here,  and  that  in  ver.  15,  bears 
upon  it  a  certain  appearance  of  jesting,  we  are  not  to  conclude 
that  Joseph  had  really  practised  the  superstition  :  still  the  cir- 
cumstance here  mentioned,  points  out  the  dangerous  position  in 
which  Joseph  and  the  Israelites  were  placed  in  Egypt,  the  very 
fountain-head  of  superstition. 

Ver.  14.  Judali. — As  he  had  especially  been  guarantee  for 
Benjamin,  so  he  is  afterwards  the  chief  spokesman.  Perhaps  we 
may  see  in  this  an  allusion  to  the  leadership  and  kingly  dignity 
of  that  tribe,  on  which  account  Jacob  (ch.  xlix.  9)  assigned  to 
him  a  portion  of  the  birthright  of  the  eldest. 

Ver.  15.  Sucli  a  man. — Higher  divine  powers  were  attributed 
to  kings  and  their  chief  servants  by  the  ancient  Orientals. 

Ver.  16.  Servants. — He  does  not  venture  to  clear  himself 
against  the  charge  of  theft ;  but  it  would  appear,  by  submitting 
himself  and  his  brethren  to  slavery,  he  hoped  to  find  some  means 
of  liberating  Benjamin. 


GENESIS  XLiy.  34;   XLV.  3-10.  175 

Ver.  34.  Father. — In  these  moving  and  beautiful  words  of 
Judali  we  perceive  what  a  change  of  character  had  taken  place 
in  Joseph's  brethren,  since  the  most  faitliful  conscientiousness 
and  fiHal  love  towards  their  father  are  expressed  therein.  This 
it  was  which  Joseph  desired  to  see ;  and  so  with  these  words, 
wlien  the  anguish  and  perplexity  of  his  brethren  have  reached 
their  height,  there  comes  in  the  turning-point  of  the  history. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

Ver.  3.  Father. — He  repeats  this  question  in  order  to  give 
them  to  understand  what  thought  above  all  was  nearest  to  his 
heart,  now  that  again  he  was  their  brother. 

Ver.  5.  Preserve  life. — Joseph  declares  to  them  (as  he  does 
afterwards,  ch.  1.  20)  that  he  saw  in  his  fate  so  completely  the 
liand  of  Divine  Providence,''as  to  forget  the  part  tliey  had  in  it. 
It  was,  therefore,  easy  for  him  to  forego  all  retaliation.  The 
brethren,  indeed,  even  after  this,  could  not  but  feel  that  their  sin 
was  not  altogether  cancelled ;  bvit  Joseph  out  of  love  would  not 
impute  it  to  them. 

Ver.  8.  But  God. — As  ye  did  not  gain  your  purpose,  but  only 
subserved  the  providence  of  God,  I  cannot  say  that  ye  sent  me 
here. 

Father. — In  the  East,  to  this  day,  the  Grand  Vizier  is  called 
the  king's  "  Foster-father"  or  guardian.  So  is  Haman  also 
named  "  the  father  of  the  kinjT." 

Ver  10.  Goshen. — The  situation  of  the  land  of  Goshen  can  be 
no  longer  a  matter  of  doubt,  after  what  the  Books  of  Moses  con- 
tain on  the  subject,  and  the  researches  of  modern  travellers  tell 
us.  According  to  ch.  xlvi.  5,  6,  it  lay  on  the  eastern  boundary, 
and  was  a  land  of  pastures  (ch.  xlvi.  34)  ;  at  the  same  time  the 
best  part  of  the  land,  the  most  fruitful  region  of  Egypt  (ch. 
xlvii.  6),  "  where  they  sowed  their  seed,  and  watered  it  with 
their  foot,"  Deut.  xi.  10 ;  where  the  Israelites  planted  and  ate 
"  cucumbers,  melons,  onions,  and  garlic,  and  fish,"  Num.  xi.  5  ; 
where  in  the  midst  of  the  Egyptians  they  dwelt  in  large  and 
rich  towns,   and  took  with  them  out  of  every  house  golden  and 


176  GENESIS  XLV.  16. 

silver  vessels,  and  great  riches,  when  they  left  Egypt.  All  this 
together  will  only  agree  with  the  north-east  part  of  Eg3'pt,  the 
region  situated  on  the  Pelusian  or  perhaps  Tanitic  arm  of  the 
Nile — the  province  now  called  Esch-Scharkijeh.  The  whole 
of  modern  Egypt  is  like  the  gigantic  monument  of  a  Great  Past, 
which,  notwithstanding  all  its  trials  during  the  continuance  of 
many  centuries — from  the  Persians,  afterwards  the  Komans, 
the  Saracens,  the  Turks — is  not  yet  destroyed,  nor  converted 
into  a  barren  waste.  Now,  indeed,  is  the  canal  in  ruins  (though 
capable  of  restoration)  which  once  connected  the  Nile  with  the 
Gulf  of  Suez,  the  Pelusian  arm  of  the  Nile  filled  with  sand,  and 
the  artificial  means  of  irrigation  destroyed ;  yet  still,  with  all 
this,  is  the  province  of  Esch-Scharkijeh  one  of  the  most  pro- 
ductive of  the  whole  land.  "  The  great  fertility  of  this  district 
arises  from  the  fact,  that  the  surface  of  the  land  lies  at  a  less 
elevation  above  the  level  of  the  Nile  than  that  of  the  other 
regions  of  Egypt ;  and  therefore  it  is  more  capable  of  irrigation 
by  sluices  which  are  cut  through  it.  Here  is  a  greater  quantity 
of  cattle,  large  and  small,  than  anywhere  else  in  Egypt,  and  also 
more  fishermen.  The  population  is  partly  migratory,  and  con- 
sists of  Fellahs  (country  people)  and  of  Arabs  from  the  adjoin- 
ing wilderness,  and  even  of  Syrians,  who  retain  their  nomadic 
kind  of  life,  and  often  wander  from  village  to  village.  Many 
villages  are  thereby  altogether  deserted,  where  some  50,000  men 
could  once  find  a  habitation.  A  million  more  could  be  main- 
tained in  that  district,  and  the  adjoining  wilderness  (as  far  at 
least  as  the  water  could  be  conveyed)  might  be  made  fruitful." 
(The  eye-witness,  Lord  Prudhoe,  in  Robinson,  i.  87.)  Accord- 
ingly, the  outskirts  of  the  wilderness  was  the  residence  allotted 
to  the  Israelites,  where  Jacob  and  his  sons  pursued  their  former 
pastoral  life ;  and  yet,  by  cultivation  of  the  soil,  participated  in 
the  wealth  of  the  best  part  of  Egypt.  Here  they  lived  much  as 
the  Copts  now  do,  partly  in  separate  villages,  and  partly  residing 
with  the  people  to  whom  the  land  belonged. 

Ver.  16.  Pharaolis  house. — The  land  of  Goshen  lay  near  the 
ancient  capital  of  Egypt.  This  would  be  the  case  if  we  suppose 
it  to  be  the  Memphis  situated  about  twenty  miles  south  of  the 
present  Cairo  ;  but  much  more  so,  if  (as  most  likely)  the  capital 
of  the  Pharaohs  was  the  ancient  Zoan,  called  by  the  Greeks 
Tanis.      Cf.  Num.  xiii.  22  ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  19,  43. 


GENESIS  XLVI.  1,  3.  177 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

We  stand  now  at  the  threshold  of  a  fresli  era  in  the  history  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  for  which  everything  since  ch.  xxxvii.  had 
been  preparing — the  going  down  of  Jacob  and  his  family  into 
Egypt.  Since  the  ancient  promise  seemed  extinct,  and  the 
people  of  Israel  mixed  Avith  a  heathen  nation,  a  new  and  clear 
revelation  from  God  was  needed  in  order  to  bring  the  Head  of 
the  chosen  people  out  of  Canaan  into  Egypt.  Had  the  Israelites 
remained  any  longer  in  Canaan,  they  must,  as  has  been  observed, 
have  merged  themselves  in  the  Canaanites,  or,  at  all  events, 
have  lost  their  united  family  character.  They  could  only  pre- 
serve their  unity  any  further  under  the  peculiar  circumstances 
in  which  they  went  into  Egypt.  Here,  at  first  being  treated 
with  great  favour,  they  obtained  room  enough  to  spread :  here 
they  were  objects  of  religious  avoidance  on  account  of  their 
occupation  as  herdsmen,  at  the  same  time  that  they  were 
enabled  to  participate  in  the  riches  and  the  high  cultivation  of 
the  people  among  whom  they  sojourned.  This  was  a  country  in 
Avhich  they  came  into  close  contact  with  a  people,  the  most 
renowned  of  all  heathens  for  the  profoundness  and  symbolism 
of  their  religion,  and  for  the  extensive  influence  which  it  exer- 
cised. No  place  was,  therefore,  better  fitted  than  Egyjit  for  the 
revealing  of  a  religion,  so  opposed  in  its  character  to  heathenism 
as  Avas  the  religion  of  the  Israelites  :  no  place  where  religious 
Israelites  could  so  perfectly  learn  the  distinction  between  the 
people  of  God  and  the  worshippers  of  Nature  and  her  powers. 
For  this  reason  was  the  journey  out  of  Canaan  solemnised  by  a 
sacrifice  on  the  part  of  Jacob,  and  by  a  gracious  revelation  on 
the  part  of  God.  The  promise,  not  merely  of  protection  on  the 
journey,  but  of  a  return  into  Canaan,  is  expressly  given.  This 
is  the  last  immediate  Divine  communication  mentioned  in  the 
history  of  the  patriarchs. 

Ver.  1.  Beevsheha. — The  boundary  of  Can  if  n  on  the  south, 
where  Abraham,  and  more  especially  Israel,  Lad  lived  so  long  : 
cf.  ch.  xxi.  31. 

Ver.  3.   God  of  thy  fathers.— Lit,  "  I  am  the  El,  the  Elohim 

M 


178  GENESIS  XLVI.  4-34. 

of  thy  fathers."  Here  God  calls  Himself  by  the  more  general 
name,  as  a  new  period  of  promise  is  beginning.  Exod.  iii.  13 
and  following  verses  afford  the  suitable  conclusion  to  this  history. 
There  God,  as  the  fulfiller  of  this  promise,  who  thereby  is  re- 
vealed afresh  as  the  God  of  the  covenant,  calls  Himself  Jehovah 
("  Ehjeh,"  I  am)  :  cf.  ch.  i.  1,  note. 

Ver.  4.  Up  again. — Here  we  find  again  how  entirely  Jacob 
is  regarded  as  one  with  his  posterity.  God  promises  to  bring 
him  up  again,  although  He  immediately  afterwards  declares  his 
death  in  Egypt.  How  completely  does  this  suppose  a  life  of 
faith  on  the  word  of  God,  when  all  that  happened  to  the  indi- 
vidual sank  into  nothing  compared  wdth  the  blessing  promised 
to  his  seed,  and  through  it  to  all  the  people  of  the  earth  ! 

Ver.  10.  Canaanitish  ivornan. — It  would  seem  from  this,  as  a 
Canaanitish  wife  of  Simeon's  is  particularly  mentioned,  that  she 
and  Judah's  wife  alone  were  from  this  people.  The  other  sons 
of  Jacob  had  taken  wives  from  among  their  kinsfolk  in  Mesopo- 
tamia. 

Ver.  13.  Job. — He  is  called.  Num.  xxvi.  24  and  1  Chron. 
vii.  1,  "  Jasclmb."  Job  means  the  same  in  Arabic,  "  one  who 
turns  back,"  or  is  converted.  He  was  called  Job,  perhaps,  by 
an  Arabian  mother,  and  the  name  translated  in  the  Hebrew 
tradition  of  it. 

Ver.  23.  Hushim. — He  is  the  only  son  mentioned.  The  be- 
ginning, "  sons,"  is  used  for  the  sake  of  uniformity  in  the  genea- 
logical table,  as  ch.  xxxvi.  25. 

Ver.  34.  Abomination. — The  Egyptians  indeed  had  among 
themselves  a  caste  of  cow-herds  and  another  of  swine-herds,  and 
Pharaoh  even  wished  to  put  some  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  over  his 
own  cattle :  ch.  xlvii.  6.  But  herdsmen  were  generally  hated  by 
the  Egyptians,  partly  because  they  could  not  easily  be  subdued 
and  kept  in  subjection,  and  partly  (in  the  case  of  foreign  herds- 
men) for  the  reason  mentioned,  ch.  xliii.  32,  note. 


GENESIS  XLVII.  9-20.  179 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


Vcr.  9.  Feio  and  evil. — Jacob  alludes  to  the  many  and  severe 
trials  of  his  life  which  he  had  suffered,  especially  those  of  his 
servitude  to  Laban,  and  that  he  had  only  late  attained  to  a 
state  of  greater  freedom  and  independence.  He  compares  his 
short  life — the  end  of  which  he  felt  approaching — -not  merely 
with  the  length  of  days  enjo3'ed  by  the  patriarchs  before  the 
flood,  but  with  the  life  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac,  both  of  whom 
reached  a  much  greater  age  than  himself.  He  calls  his  life  a 
pilgrimage — a  roaming  to  and  fro  in  a  strange  country — not  so 
much  on  account  of  its  nomadic  character,  as  because  the  whole 
existence  on  earth,  in  relation  to  eternity,  appeared  to  him  to  be 
such.  The  promise  which  had  brought  them  down  to  Canaaii, 
directed  the  mind  of  the  patriai'ch  ever  towards  the  future. 

Ver.  11.  Rameses. — Rameses  is,  according  to  the  old  Greek 
translation,  the  town  of  Heroonpolis  (hero-city),  probably  so 
called  by  the  Greeks  because  the  greatest  Egyptian  heroes  had 
the  name  of  Rameses.  In  the  east,  near  the  Pelusian  arm  of 
the  Nile,  commences  the  valley  now  called  "  Wady  Tamilat." 
At  first  its  direction  is  from  west  to  east,  then  it  inclines  towards 
the  south-east  and  south,  towards  the  northern  point  of  the  Gulf 
of  Suez.  It  is  the  old  bed  of  the  channel  which  connected  the 
Nile  with  the  lied  Sea  (cf.  ch.  xlv.  10,  note).  At  the  entrance 
of  the  valley,  the  site  of  the  modern  Abassieh  was  situated,  the 
ancient  Pithom  (Exod.  i.  11).  Some  16  or  20  miles  distant,  to 
the  east,  lay  Rameses,  on  the  site  of  the  modern  Abu  Keischeid. 
Both  were  border  fortresses  against  Arabia,  which  afterwards  the 
Israelites  assisted  in  building.  This  was  the  southern  part  of 
the  land  of  (xoshen,  which,  from  its  capital,  bore  the  name  of 
Rameses.  From  this  place,  at  a  later  period,  the  Israelites 
reached  the  Red  Sea  in  two  days  :  Exod.  xii.  36  ;  Num.  xxxiii.  6. 

Ver.  20.  All  the  land. — At  the  time  of  the  going  down  of 
Jacob  and  his  family  into  Egypt,  a  great  change  in  the  state  of 
the  country  was  brought  about  by  Josc})h's  instrumentality.  In 
order  to  form  a  correct  notion  of  this  transaction,  we  must  be  on 
our  fTuard  against  the  mistake  of  transferring  modern  notions  to 
ancient  times.     In  Egypt,  the  king  had  always  been  esteemed 


180  GENESIS  XLVII.  20. 

as  a  sacred  person.  He  was  the  visible  representative  of  Osiris, 
his  incarnation,  and  himself  a  priest.  As  king,  he  possessed  from 
the  first  large  tracts  of  land  ;  and  the  lower  classes  or  races  of 
the  people  stood  in  a  political  and  religious  dependence  on  him. 
These  classes  had  been  brought  into  entire  subjection  to  the 
priestly  caste — it  would  seem  in  a  peaceable  manner.  The 
priests  also  were  great  landowners ;  but  received,  besides,  from 
the  king  an  allowance  for  their  support.  The  result  of  what 
Joseph  did  was  this — that  he  procured  for  the  king  the  posses- 
sion of  the  land  of  the  whole  country,  so  that,  with  the  exception 
of  the  lands  which  belonged  to  the  priests,  every  kind  of  land- 
owner was  swept  away  ;  and  instead  of  landowners,  they  became 
merely  tenants  or  farmers  of  the  king.  Their  rent  was  fixed  at  a 
fifth.  The  other  change  was  this — that  he  did  away  with  the  free 
optional  living  on  the  land.  He  removed  the  tenants  into  towns, 
and  made,  it  would  seem,  a  regular  and  accurate  division  of  the 
land.  We  find,  from  later  tradition,  that  such  a  division  was 
ascribed  to  Sesostris.  There  is  nothing  in  the  narrative  to  lead 
us  to  think  of  a  personal  slavery,  which  was  out  of  the  question. 
The  expression,  "  our  bodies  and  our  fields,"  gives  us  to  under- 
stand that  their  estates,  together  with  their  personal  labour,  be- 
longed to  the  king,  and  that  both  were  more  dependent  on  him 
than  before.  As  Herod.  (B.  ii.  109)  says,  "  Sesostris  is  reported 
to  have  distributed  all  the  land  among  the  Egyptians,  giving  to 
each  person  an  equal  square  ]wrtion  ;  and  from  their  allotments  a 
yearly  rent  was  paid,  according  to  a  rate  appointed  to  each. 
Whenever  the  river  washed  away  a  part  of  any  one's  portion,  he 
might  present  himself  before  the  king  and  state  what  had  taken 
place  ;  and  the  king  sent  persons  to  measure  how  much  the  land 
was  diminished,  that  the  occupier  might  for  the  future  pay  a 
proportionate  tribute."  Even  in  the  much  later  time  when 
Herodotus  lived,  there  were  no  land-freeholders  besides  the  king, 
the  priests,  and  a  part  of  the  military  caste,  who  appear  to  have 
obtained  the  privilege,  ])robably,  in  conseqiience  of  some  Avar. 
By  the  Egyptians  themselves,  the  open  and  straightforward  con- 
duct of  Joseph  was  felt  and  acknowledged  as  a  benefit ;  and  in 
a  country  where  the  return  is  often  tliirtyfold,  the  tribute  of 
a  fifth  was  not  oppressive.  It  is  probable  that  from  this  time 
Egypt  may  date  its  good  order  and  management,  which  excited 
the  admiration  of  much  later  times. 


GENESIS  XLVII.  22-30.  191 

This  whole  transaction,  which  did  not  affect  the  Israelites 
themselves,  is,  however,  here  mentioned  so  circumstantially, 
because  afterwards  among  them  a  similar  right  was  introduced 
in  reference  to  their  Highest  King — God  Himself.  He  had 
given  and  divided  the  land  of  Canaan  to  them.  They  were  all 
His  servants  (Lev.  xxv.  42,  55).  Accordingly,  they  must  pay 
to  Him  a  double  tithe.  Of  this  God  gave  one  part  to  the  priests 
and  Levites  for  their  maintenance  (as  Pharaoh  to  the  Egyptian 
priests),  the  other  was  consumed  in  high  feasts  at  sacrificial 
meals,  which  were  given  to  the  Levites,  the  widows,  orphans, 
and  the  poor.  For  the  first,  see  Lev.  xxvii.  30,  Num.  xviii.  21 ; 
for  the  second,  Deut.  xii.  17-19,  ch.  xiv.  22-29,  ch.  xxvi.  12-15. 
Those  relations  of  dependence  of  person  and  property  on  the 
king,  and  of  acknowledgment  of  his  supreme  right  over  all  by  the 
payment  of  the  fifths,  was  Israel  to  transfer  to  its  invisible  King. 
The  main  principle  of  the  whole  outer  life  of  the  Israelites  was 
always  to  be  in  subjection  to  Him. 

Ver.  22.  Sold  not  thew  lands. — The  priests  received  from 
Pharaoh  for  their  services  a  certain  allowance  of  meat  and  wine. 
They  did  not  therefore  suffer  from  the  famine,  nor  were  obliged 
to  sell  their  lands.  And  we  find  also,  in  later  times,  that  they 
"  received  daily  their  sacred  baked  bread,  and  a  quantity  of 
beef  and  goose-flesh  and  wine."  Wlicn  the  military  caste  also 
obtained  possession  of  freehold  land,  those  among  them  who  had 
served  with  the  king  for  a  year  had,  in  addition,  daily  rations 
of  bread,  meat,  and  wine  (Herod.  2,  37,  168).  By  such  regu- 
lations, without  doubt,  care  was  taken  that  the  priestly  class 
might  not  at  any  time  suffer  from  want,  or  fall  into  dependence 
on  the  king,  or  on  any  other  person. 

Ver  25.  PliaraolCs  servants. — Servants,  but  not  bondmen. 
That  a  sort  of  feudal  service  is  here  intended — the  service  of 
free  labourers,  not  of  bondmen — we  may  learn  from  the  rela- 
tionship of  the  Israelites  to  God,  which  was  formed  after  the 
plan  of  this  Egyptian  model.  In  a  political  sense  of  the  word, 
the  Israelites  were  not  bondmen  (Lev.  xxv.  42,  55)  :  "  They  are 
My  servants,  which  I  brought  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt." 
•  Ver.  29.  Found  grace. — Not  as  though  he  doubted  his  son's 
feeling  towards  him,  but,  as  we  would  say,  "  If  now  thou  wilt 
show  me  a  proof  of  love." 

Ver.  30.   Their   hnnjing-place. — It   was  of  consequence  that 


182  GENESIS  XLVII.  31 ;   XLYIII.  4-12. 

Israel,  before  his  end,  should  solemnly  show  that  he  looked  for- 
ward to  the  Land  of  Promise,  even  in  the  country  where  he  and 
his  had  received  such  kindness.  As  in  the  cases  of  Abraham 
and  Isaac,  so  also  with  Jacob,  the  promise  of  the  blessing  on  all 
people,  which  was  to  be  fulfilled  in  Canaan,  was  the  soul  of  his 
life.  This  hope  drew  him  away  from  this  world,  and  Avas  the 
anchor  which  bound  him  to  the  unseen  world. 

Yer.   31.    BecVs  head. — He  prayed  towards  the  bed's  head, 
thankful  that  his  last  wish  was  now  fulfilled :  of.  Heb.  xi.  21. 


CHAPTER   XLVIII. 

Ver.  4.  For  an  everlasting  possession. — The  chequered  life  of 
Jacob  was  now  drawing  to  an  end.  Before  his  departure  the 
Spirit  of  prophecy  came  upon  him,  with  respect  to  the  promises 
of  God  made  to  him.  He  announces  to  his  beloved  son,  Joseph, 
that  his  portion  of  the  inheritance  was  transferred  to  his  two  sons, 
Ephraim  and  ISIanasseh.  Jacob  in  this  verse  does  not  mean,  by 
this  land,  that  in  which  they  were  then  living — Goshen ;  but  he 
speaks  of  the  division  of  the  land  of  Canaan.  Out  of  Jacob's 
twelve  sons  there  arose  thirteen  tribes  ;  but  Ephraim  and  Manas- 
seh  always  constituted  one. 

Ver.  5.  Simeon. — The  first-born  received  a  double  inheritance 
(Deut.  xxi.  17).  But  as  Jacob  had  determined  to  deprive 
Keuben  of  this  birthright  (ch.  xlix.  4),  but  might  not  do  so  ex- 
clusively in  favour  of  the  son  of  his  beloved  Kachel  (in  accord- 
ance with  the  law  afterwards  given,  as  just  quoted),  therefore 
he  divided  the  birtliright,  and  gave  the  double  inheritance  to 
Jose])h,  but  the  first  rank  and  authority  to  Judah  (ch.  xlix.  8  ; 
cf  1  Chron.  v.  12). 

Yer.  7.  Bethlehem. — A  reason  added  to  the  foregoing.  I  do 
this  in  honour  of  my  beloved  Rachel,  who  died  there  so  early 
in  life.  The  words,  "  the  same  is  Bethlehem,"  are,  like  many 
others  of  the  same  kind  (e.g.,  Kirjath-arba,  this  is  Hebron,  ch. 
xxiii,  2),  an  addition  made  by  Moses,  explaining  the  name  by 
the  position  of  places  in  his  own  time. 

Yer.   12.   His  knees. — He  held  them  standing  between  his 


GENESIS  XLVIII.  14-22.  183 

knees.  !Manasseh,  at  that  time,  was  at  least  20  years  old  :  of.  eh. 
xli.  51,ch.  xlvii.  28. 

Ver.  14.  Wittinghj. — Perhaps  this  would  ho  more  correctly 
translated,  "  he  intertwined  his  hands " — laid  them  crosswise. 
In  blessing  Ephraim  and  JSIanasseh,  before  Jacob  uttered  the 
great  prophetic  blessings  on  his  sons,  the  Divine  Spirit  of  pro- 
phecy is  shown  in  a  remarkable  way.  By  the  secret  guidance 
of  God,  he  gives  the  younger  the  preference  over  the  elder. 
This  event  was  of  great  moment  in  the  after  history  of  the  two 
tribes. 

Ver.  15.  Fed  one. — Heb. :  "Pastured  me" — which  is  even 
more  than  nourished  or  fed,  cf.  Ps.  xxiii.  1-4.  Like  David, 
the  shepherd  Jacob  sees  in  the  Lord  his  Shepherd. 

Ver.  16.  Angel. — He  speaks  of  God  and  the  Angel  who  had 
redeemed  him  as  the  same,  and  therefore  clearly  ascribes  to  this 
Angel  Divine  nature.  Li  the  Samaritan  Version,  this  word  was 
changed,  by  the  alteration  of  a  letter,  from  the  "Angel"  into  the 
"  King  " — which  would  be  an  appellation  of  God.  The  Angel  is 
He  who  wrestled  with  Jacob  at  P'ni-el,  and  blessed  him  there 
and  gave  him  a  new  name.   Cf.  ch.  xxxii.  24,  and  ch.  xvi.  7,  note. 

Name. — Heb. :  "  And  my  name,  and  the  name  of  my  fathers 
Abraham  and  Isaac,  shall  be  named  in  them ; "  i.e.,  May  they 
preserve  this  name  and  spread  it  abroad  on  earth — may  the 
fathers  and  I  live  in  them. 

Ver.  19.  Multitude  of  nations. — A  fnlness.  In  the  time  of  Moses 
this  was  not  yet  accomplished.  In  the  first  numbering  of  the 
people  in  the  wilderness  (Num.  i.  32-35),  Ephraim  had  40,500, 
and  Manasseh  32,200;  in  the  second  (Num.  xxvi.  34,  37), 
Ephraim  32,500,  and  Manasseh  52,700,  belonging  to  them  re- 
spectively. But  afterwards  this  proportion  was  much  altered : 
Ephraim  became,  in  the  time  of  the  Judges,  the  most  numerous 
and  powerful  tribe  next  to  Judah  (Judges  iv.  5,  ch.  v.  14,  ch. 
viii.,  ch.  xii.)  ;  and  eventually,  in  the  reign  of  Jeroboam,  drew 
off  ten  tribes,  and  formed  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 

Ver.  22.  One  j^ortion.- — In  the  Hebrew  there  is  a  play  on  the 
M'ords.  "  Schechem "  (Sichem)  means,  properly,  the  shoulder, 
the  shoulder-piece,  then  generally  a  large  choice  portion  at  a 
feast,  and  thence  a  good  piece  of  land.  Here  is  the  "Schechem" 
(Sichem)  meant,  which  Jacob's  sons  had  taken  from  the  Amorites 
on  account  of  the  seduction  of  Dinah,  laid  waste,  and  possessed. 


184  GENESIS  XLIX. 

This  Sichem  was  tlie  chief  pLace  in  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  in  a 
rich,  fruitful  region,  at  the  foot  of  Mounts  Gerizim  and  Ebal. 
Jacob  here  speaks  of  the  act  of  his  sons  as  his  own,  though  he 
had  by  no  means  approved  of  it  (ch.  xHx.  6).  By  this  gift 
Jacob  wished  to  reward  Joseph  for  the  love  and  the  benefits  which 
he  had  shown  himself  and  his  sons. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

As  Isaac  had,  by  Divine  authority,  imparted  his  blessing  to 
Jacob,  so  do  we  here  see  the  dying  Israel  direct  his  looks  out  of 
Egypt  to  Canaan,  in  order,  by  the  Spirit  of  prophecy,  to  commit, 
in  anticipation,  the  land  to  his  twelve  sons,  and  to  appoint  to 
each  tribe  his  proper  place  among  the  future  people  of  God. 
The  twelve  sons  assemble  round  his  bed.     What  the  father  had 
observed  during  the  70  years  of  his  quiet  shepherd  life,  will  be 
now  vividly  present  before  their  view.     The  germ  of  the  prophecy 
— the  idea  in  the  soul  of  Jacob — is  the  prospect  of  the  Promised 
Land.     Thither  will  he  turn  the  eyes  of  his  mind.     In  Egypt 
he  has  no  home.     In  Canaan  each  one  of  his  sons  shall  find  his 
place  according  to  his  peculiar  character  and  disposition,  which 
shall  be  more  perfectly  developed  in  their  posterity.     The  Spirit 
of  God  gives  light  and  life  to  the  germ  of  prophecy  in  Jacob's 
mind.    His  insight  into  the  future  receives  clearness ;  and  where 
his  natural  senses  might  lead  him  astray,  that  Spirit  affords  dis- 
tinctness and  certainty.     First,  he  sees  Reuben  stand  before  him, 
full  of  strength  and  gentleness ;  but  by  one  act  of  sin  and  shame 
he  has  forfeited  his  birthright.     It  is  taken  from  him.     His 
tribe  receives  but  a  small  inheritance,  and  that  outside  Canaan 
proper,  in  the  south-eastern  pastures,  between  Jordan  and  Eu- 
phrates.    This  tribe  plays  but  an  unimportant  part  in  all  the 
after  history. — The  fierce,  undisciplined,  fiery  natures  of  Levi 
and  Simeon  come  next  into  review.     From  them  the  first-born 
in  privilege  cannot  be.     They  receive  now  the  punishment  of 
their  cruelty  and  treachery  on  Hamor  and  Sichem.     As  a  tribe 
they  could  not  dwell  together.     Their  inheritance  is  divided  and 
dispersed  among  the  rest. — Next  comes  the  kingly,  haughty,  and 


GENESIS  XLIX.  185 

powerful  Jiiclah.  He  receives  tlie  birthright  of  sovereignty 
taken  from  Keuben.  His  tribe  possessed  calm  and  invincible 
heroism,  the  certainty  of  the  future  royal  dignity,  riches  and 
abundance  in  their  fruitful  borders. — Zebulon  seems  to  have  had 
a  disposition  for  business  and  commerce.  It  was  to  settle  on  the 
sea-shore,  and  stretch  to  Sidon. — Issachar  is  a  powerful,  but 
lazy,  beast  of  burden.  His  dwelling  suits  his  character.  He 
hazards  nothing.  So  that  lie  can  have  peace,  he  is  content  with 
subjection. — Dan,  on  the  other  hand,  has  an  independent  adven- 
turous spirit,  which  spurs  him  on  to  bold  and  crafty  deeds. — Gad 
allows  himself  to  be  attacked,  but  boldly  turns  and  defeats  the 
enemy.  In  his  district,  on  the  east  of  Jordan,  this  tribe  was 
more  exposed  than  most  to  continual  assaults. — Asher  is  delicate, 
and  prepares  kingly  dainties. — Naphtali  is  a  slim  hind,  with  elo- 
quent beautiful  language. — But  all  there  is  of  outward  blessing 
and  riches  is  heaped  on  Joseph's  house.  Fruitful  and  powerful, 
he  spreads  himself  on  all  sides.  No  assault  can  fall  on  him.  In 
the  fulness  of  his  possessions  he  surpasses  his  brethren ;  while  in 
Benjamin  is  only  to  be  seen  a  spirit  of  lawlessness  and  violence, 
which  made  this  tribe  dangerous,  and  brought  upon  it  well-de- 
served humiliations.  This  "  prophetic  land-chart "  of  Canaan  is 
very  remarkable  ;  for,  although  Jacob  is  guided  by  the  character 
of  his  sons  in  the  description  which  he  gives  of  their  future  lot, 
by  their  past  conduct,  by  what  he  had  observed  of  their  disposi- 
tion, and  accordiiig  to  the' kindness  he  had  received  from  them, 
yet  the  Spirit  of  prophecy  gives  a  width  of  meaning  to  his  words, 
and  the  result  turned  out  very  differently  from  what  might  have 
been  expected.  The  punishment  threatened  to  Levi  is  indeed 
fulfilled ;  but  it  proves  a  blessing  and  an  advantage  both  for  him 
and  the  people.  Judah  had  done  nothing  for  his  father  or  his 
brethren  which  should  exalt  him  so  high  above  the  rest.  Those 
blessings  which  the  dreams  of  his  childhood  might  have  led 
us  to  expect  to  be  reserved  for  the  "  Nasir  " — "  separate  one  " 
among  the  brethren — do  not  turn  out  so.  God's  purposes  go  their 
hidden  way.  To  Joseph  is  only  outward  blessing  promised. 
And  Benjamin,  the  youngest  son  of  the  beloved  wife,  at  wliose 
birth  she  died,  appears  only  as  a  wild,  powerful  beast  of  prey. 
As  God  drove  out  the  eldest  son  of  the  handmaiden,  and  did  not 
suffer  him,  born  after  the  flesh,  to  be  heir  with  him  who  was 
born  after  the  Spirit — as  God,  ere  the  children  had  done  either 


186  GENESIS  XLIX.  3-7. 

good  or  evil,  gave  the  preference  to  Jacob  above  bis  elder  brother 
— as  God  placed  Ephraim  before  Manasseh, — so,  among  Jacob's 
sons,  is  that  one  the  inheritor  of  the  promise  of  whose  good  deeds 
and  qualities  Holy  Scripture  is  silent,  and  concerning  whom  it 
narrates  almost  only  that  which  is  to  his  disadvantage. 

Ver.  3.  Excellency  of  potver. — Jacob  lays  great  stress  on  the 
whole  dignity  which  belonged  to  the  first-born,  in  order  to  make 
Reuben  feel  more  deeply  the  greatness  of  the  sin  which  had  oc- 
casioned the  loss. 

Ver.  4.  Unstable  as  watei\ — Jacob's  address,  like  all  Hebrew 
prophecy,  is  bold  and  forcible,  uttered  in  abrupt,  highly  pictu- 
resque words.  Literally,  the  sentence  is,  "  Bubbling  over  as 
water,  thou  canst  not  be  the  first."  As  water  boils  over,  in  like 
manner  had  Reuben's  self-confidence  and  pride  led  him  into 
crime. 

He  ivent  up. — The  father's  loathing  of  the  sin  is  forcibly  repre- 
sented in  the  mode  of  the  expression.  The  speaker  turns  away 
from  the  guilty  son,  and,  as  it  were,  addresses  a  third  person. 
Here,  where  the  patriarch  speaks  more  than  ever  in  the  stead  of 
God,  the  enormity  of  a  sin  is  marked,  which,  previously,  Jacob 
or  the  narrative  had  bvit  slightly  touched  on. — This,  and  the 
curse  pronounced  on  Simeon  which  follows,  are  of  very  great 
importance  as  respects  the  right  understanding,  in  general,  of  the 
M'hole  mode  of  speaking  of  transactions  in  these  books.  We 
might  often  be  inclined  to  ascribe  to  the  writer  indifference  with 
regard  to  sins  which  are  mentioned  just  casually,  and  without 
any  expression  of  disapprobation.  But  it  is  here  shown  that  all 
sin  sooner  or  later  meets  with  its  punishment,  though  God  may 
long  and  patiently  bear  with  it ;  and  the  reader  of  these  true 
descriptions  of  Holy  Scriptute  is  not  to  look  for  any  judgment 
to  be  pronounced  at  the  time  on  each  crime  which  is  mentioned. 

Ver.  6.  Afine  Jionour. — So  in  solemn  and  poetical  language 
the  soul,  as  the  nobler  part  of  man,  is  often  called  :  cf.  Ps.  xvi.  9, 
Ivii.  8,  cviii.  1. 

Dujged  doivn  a  loall;  lit.,  as  in  the  margin,  "houghed  oxen," 
whereby  the  animals  were  rendered  useless.  This  was  customary 
in  war.  The  conquerors  often  did  this  to  captured  horses  which 
they  could  not  convey  away.  By  this  image  the  cruel  deed  of 
these  brothers  (ch.  xxxiv.)  is  forcibly  represented. 

Ver.  7.  Scatter  them. — A  most  remarkable  prophecy,  which 


GENESIS  XLIX.  8-10.  187 

shows  plainly  that  these  Avords  were  really  spoken  by  Jacob.  In 
the  time  of  Moses  the  tribe  of  Levi  possessed  the  priesthood,  and 
so  had  attained  great  privileges.  No  one  living  then  would  have 
placed  this  tribe  in  the  same  rank  with  Simeon,  or  have  seen,  in 
the  circumstances  of  it,  only  a  punishment.  The  blessing  of 
Moses  shows  how  another  act  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  (expressing, 
indeed,  something  of  the  character  of  their  progenitor,  but  sanc- 
tified by  its  pious  zeal)  changed  the  curse  into  a  blessing  (Dent, 
xxxiii.  9,  10 ;  cf.  Exod.  xxxii.  20-29).  Still  the  dispersion  of 
the  tribe  of  Levi  among  the  others  remained  for  its  discipline, 
and  served  to  remind  it  of  this  prophecy  of  Israel's.  In  many 
|)laces  IMoses  exhorts  the  people  to  remember  their  duties  towards 
the  Levites,  who  possessed  no  inheritance  among  them  (Num. 
xviii.  20;  Deut.  xii.  19,  ch.  xiv.  27,  ch.  xviii.  Q-S).  There  were 
times  also  when,  through  the  spread  of  irreligion,  the  people 
would  give  nothing  to  the  servants  of  the  Lord  ;  and,  for  the  sake 
of  hire,  the  Levites  connected  themselves  with  idol  worship  : 
Judges  xviii.  Simeon,  like  Levi,  small  in  numbers  (Num. 
xxvi.  14),  had  not  a  separate  and  distinct  inheritance  in  Canaan. 
Its  towns  lay  among  the  other  tribes  (Joshua  xix.  1).  In  the 
blessing  of  Moses  this  tribe  is  not  named  with  the  others. 

Ver.  8.  Judah. — Judah  signifies  "  the  commended,"  "  the 
praised." 

Jjow  doivji. — Judah  was  already  in  the  wilderness  the  leading 
tribe,  and  remained  so  a  long  time,  even  before  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  (Num.  ii.  3,  ch.  x.  14;  Judges  i.  2,  ch. 
XX.  18). 

Ver.  9.  Rouse  him  up. — A  continuance  of  the  image  of  the 
lion.  Literally,  the  passage  is  thus  :  "  A  young  lion  is  Judah  ; 
from  the  prey,  my  son,  art  thou  gone  up :  he  kneels,  he  couches 
as  a  lion,  and  as  a  lioness,  who  shall  rouse  him  up  1  Judah  is  a 
lion's  whelp  :  he  goes  forth  to  the  prey,  he  mounts  up  with  his 
prey  triumphantly  to  the  mountain-den ;  there  he  couches  as  a 
lion,  nay,  like  the  still  fiercer  lioness,  who  shall  venture  to  rouse 
him?"  In  the  description  the  imagery  increases  in  force,  per- 
haps in  reference  to  the  continually  increasing  power  of  this  tribe, 
Avhich  received  its  consummation  in  the  greatest  of  all  Victors, 
in  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  :  Rev.  v.  5. 

Ver.  10.  Gathering  of  the  people  be. — Lit. :  "The  staff  shall  not 
pass  from  Judah,  nor  the  sceptre  between  his   feet,   until  the 


188  GENESIS  XLIX.  12. 

Peace  come,  and  to  Him  shall  be  the  obedience  of  the  people." 
The  words  "staff"  and  "sceptre"  mean  the  same.  The  first 
expresses  a  staff  which  was  used  for  walking,  striking,  but  after- 
wards more  particularly  as  a  mark  of  authority;  the  second 
word,  "  sceptre,"  is  properly  "  lawgiver:"  so  the  sign  of  the  law- 
giver or  king  was  thus  named.  The  long  staff  of  office  was  "  be- 
tween the  feet "  when  the  prince  on  solemn  occasions  stands  or 
sits.  So  long  shall  a  ruler  of  the  people  come  out  of  Judah  until 
(Heb.  "  Scheloh  ")  "  the  peace,"  or  "  the  rest,"  come.  This  is 
the  proper  name,  in  poetical  language,  of  a  great  descendant  of 
»Tudah,  who  is  named  from  the  blessing  which  shall  proceed  from 
Him,  as  is  evident  from  what  follows :  "  And  to  Him  shall  be 
the  obedience  of  the  people." 

In  this  remarkable  prophecy  of  Jacob's,  the  blessing  wliicli  was 
promised  to  descend  from  Abraham  upon  all  nations  (Gen.  xii.  3) 
is  more  distinctly  defined.  Among  Israel's  descendants,  it  is  the 
tribe  of  Judah  from  which  the  promise  should  receive  its  fulfil- 
ment. This  victorious  tribe,  full  of  lionlike  strength,  shall  main- 
tain its  pre-eminence  above  the  rest  until  the  Prince  of  Peace 
shall  come,  to  whom,  not  only  the  other  tribes,  but  all  people, 
shall  yield  obedience.  The  triumph  which  all  nations  shall 
enjoy  in  Abraham  and  his  seed  is  to  consist  in  peace,  which  the 
mighty,  victorious  Leader  shall  give  to  them.  The  "  Prince  of 
Peace,"  as  says  Isaiah  (ch.  ix.  5),  carrying  out  this  image,  shall 
erect  a  kingdom  in  which  peace  shall  have  no  end — peace  with 
God  by  means  of  reconciliation,  peace  on  earth  by  the  spirit  of 
love  which  He  shall  pour  out. — A  literal  and  outward  fulfilment 
of  this  prophecy  in  all  its  parts  is  not  to  be  looked  for — as  the 
Christ  must  be  born  at  the  time  when  Herod  the  IdumoBan  ob- 
tained the  kingdom — which  would  not  agree  with  facts.  Rather, 
Judah  had  the  first  rank  after  the  time  of  the  Judges  in  the 
House  of  David — then  in  the  kingdom,  since  the  temple  was  in 
the  midst  of  it.  Further,  after  the  captivity,  Judah  was  the  first 
tribe  to  return  home,  and  it  gave  the  name  to  the  whole  people. 
So  it  maintained  the  first  rank  until  the  time  of  Christ,  when  in 
a  yet  higher  measure  it  enjoyed  the  privileges  hitherto  possessed 
by  it. 

Ver.  12.  White  loith  milk. — Heb.,  "  red  (lit.^lark)  from  wine — 
white  from  milk."  The^great  abundance  of  wine  and  milk  is 
depicted  by  the  fact  that  Judah  binds  his  ass  to  the  vine,  and 


GENESIS  XLIX.  13-19.  189 

washes  even  liis  clothes  in  the  wine, — tlie  eves  and  teeth  bear 
witness  to  tlie  fuhiess  and  richness  of  both.  The  outward 
blessing  points  to  the  inexhaustible  source  of  inward  blessing 
which  should  proceed  from  him. 

A-^er.  13.  Haven  of  sliips ;  i.e.,  he  shall  dwell  on  a  shore 
abounding  in  havens. 

IRs  harder. — Lit.:  "  And  his  side  leans  to  Sidon."  He  not 
merely  borders  on,  but  has  close  intercourse  with,  the  Phoenician 
trading  towns.  Deut.  xxxiii.  19  also  alludes  to  the  busy  cha- 
racter of  this  tribe,  which  "  sucks  the  abundance  of  the  sea,  and 
treasures  hid  in  the  sand," — no  doubt,  by  commercial  dealings 
with  the  skilful  and  industrious  people  of  antiquity,  the  Phoe- 
nicians, by  whom  at  that  time  Sidon,  but  not  yet  Tyre,  was 
built.     Cf.  ch.  X.  15,  note. 

Ver.  15.  Unto  tribute. — Also  Deut.  xxx.  19,  peace  is  predicted 
to  this  tribe.  We  here  see  that  it  will  lead  to  mean  and  cowardly 
conduct. 

Ver.  IG.  Dan. — Dan  means  "judge."  A  wild  determined 
spirit  of  independence  appears  to  have  been  the  characteristic  of 
this  tribe.  Hence  that  lawless  act,  the  invasion  of  the  Danites, 
Judges  xviii. 

Ver.  17.  Adder. — The  Avord  translated  "  adder"  means  a 
horned  snake,  still  frequently  found  in  Egypt  ("  Cerost ;"  marg. 
Eng.  Bib.,  "  arrow-snake").  This  snake  is  of  the  colour  of  sand, 
in  which  it  lies  on  the  road,  and  perceives  by  means  of  the  horn- 
feelers  the  approach  of  the  horseman.  A  sharp  sting  in  the 
horse's  hoof  causes  the  animal  to  throw  the  rider.  From  this 
tribe  was  Samson. 

Ver.  18.  Salvation. — Jacob,  as  it  wore,  takes  breath.  Full  of 
the  predictions  of  salvation  which  God  had  given  him,  and 
through  him  to  his  children,  he  longs  earnestly  after  their  ful- 
filment. 

Ver.  19.  At  the  last. — Lit. :  "  Gad,  a  troop  presses  him,  and 
he  presses  the  heels ;"  i.e.,  he  suffers  himself  to  be  attacked,  but 
afterwards  collects  his  force  and  falls  on  the  victor  from  behind. 
The  name  "  Gad"  resembles  "  Gedub,"  which  means  "  a  troop." 
The  tribe  dwelt  on  the  other  side  Jordan,  between  Peuben  and 
Manasseh ;  and  was  disturbed  by  incursions  of  the  Ammonites 
and  Arabian  bands  :  Judges  x.  8,  ch.  xi.  4  ;  1  Chron.  v.  18-23. 
Therefore  Moses  calls  him,  in  his  blessing,  "the  room- maker," 


190  GENESIS  XLIX.  20-26. 

enlarger,  "  who  dwelleth  as  a  lion,  and  tearetli  the  arm  with  the 
crown  of  the  head." 

Ver.  20.  Shall  be  fat. — The  fat  bread  which  he  enjoys  shall 
come  also  to  others.  This  tribe  inhabited  a  rich,  fertile  country 
at  the  foot  of  ^It.  Carmel,  and  on  the  sea-coast. 

Ver.  21.  Hind.— Jj'it. :  "A  stretched-out  hind;"  i.e.,  at  futl 
gallop.  The  gazelle,  the  most  beautiful  animal  of  the  East. 
Kefinement  and  eloquence,  or  poetical  gifts,  appear  to  have  be- 
longed peculiarly  to  this  tribe,  though  the  narrative  is  silent  on 
the  subject. 

Ver.  22.  By  a  loell. — "  A  son  of  a  fruit-bough  (Heb.,  *  Phorath' 
— a  play  on  Ephraim)  is  Joseph,  a  son  of  a  fruit-bough  on  a 
stream :"  of  a  fruitful  nature  ;  and  water  shall  never  be  wanting 
to  it. 

Ver.  23.  Shot  at. — Lit. :  "  Tlie  lords  of  arrows — i.e.,  skilful 
archers — vex,  and  shoot  at,  and  hate."  An  allusion  to  the  early 
lot  of  Joseph,  which  was  afterwards  repeated  in  the  history  of 
the  tribe  of  Ephraim  :  Judges  xii. 

Ver.  24.  Stone  of  Israel. — Heb. :  "  From  the  hands  of  the 
mighty  Jacob ;  from  there  where  the  Shepherd,  the  Stone  (the 
Rock)  of  Israel,  is," — i.e.,  from  God.  The  name  shepherd  was 
often  applied  to  God:  cf.  ch.  xlviii.  15;  cf  Ps.  xxiii.  1,  Ps. 
Ixxx.  2.  "Rock  or  stone  of  Israel"  is  also  very  frequent:  Ps. 
xviii.  32  ;  1  Sam.  ii.  2.  God  feeds  Israel ;  He  holds  and  bears 
him.  Therefore  Joseph's  strength  is  ever  refi'eshed  and  renewed 
from  God's  strength. 

Ver  25.  Heaven  above. — Literally:  "From  the  God  of  thy 
father,  and  He  will  help  thee ;  from  the  Almighty,  and  He  will 
bless  thee."  Thus  these  words  are  closely  connected  with  what 
precedes  and  follows. 

Blessings  of  the  deep ;  i.e.,  abundance  of  water  which  springs 
from  the  earth. 

Ver.  26.  Everlasting  hills. — By  a  correct  punctuation  (sup- 
ported by  Deut.  xxxiii.  15),  the  passage  is  thus  to  be  translated  : 
"  The  blessings  of  thy  father  are  mightier  than  the  blessings  of 
the  mountains  of  eternity,  than  the  loveliness  of  the  hills  of 
former  times ;"  i.e.,  the  most  ancient  fruitful  mountains  on  earth, 
with  their  loveliness  ("  everlasting,"  for  very  old  ;  rich,  those 
which  are  not  now  for  the  first  time  carefully  cultivated),  do  not 
sm'pass  the  blessing  which  thy  father  bestows  on  thee. 


GENESIS  XLIX.  27-33  ;   L.  3.  191 

Separate. — "Nasir;"  i.e.,  consecrated,  separated,  the  prince 
among  his  brethren ;  which  apphes  here,  not  to  the  tribe,  but  to 
the  person  of  Joseph.  The  tribes  of  Ejihraiin  and  Manasseh 
were  the  ricliest  in  vines,  fruit,  and  pastures. 

Ver.  27.  Divide  the  spoil. — The  comparison  of  Benjamin  to  a 
ravening  wolf,  alludes  to  the  warlike  and  wild  character  of  this 
small  tribe.  In  the  time  of  the  Judges  it  was  brought  very  near 
utter  extermination  (Judges  iii.  15,  ch.  xx.  14). 

Ver.  29.  Charged  them. — On  another  occasion — soon  after- 
wards. 

Ver.  32.  Children  of  Ileth. — In  the  cave,  which  has  been 
rightfully  obtained,  wherein  already  so  many  of  our  family  are 
buried.  The  purchase  of  the  cave  and  the  conduct  of  Abraham 
was  an  act  of  faith  in  the  future  possession  of  the  land  of 
Canaan  by  his  descendants  :  cf.  ch.  xxiii.,  introd.  Hence  the 
strong  desire  of  Jacob  on  the  subject. 

Ver.  33.  Gathered  up  his  feet. — He  saw  death  approaching, 
laid  himself  out  to  meet  it,  and  gently  expired. 


CHAPTER  L. 

Ver.  3.  Threescore  and  ten  days. — The  funeral  of  Jacob,  as 
the  father  of  the  first  man  in  the  kingdom  next  to  the  king,  is 
performed  in  a  very  magnificent  manner,  after  the  Egyptian 
fashion.  A  part  of  this  was  the  embalming  of  the  corpse.  In 
much  later  times,  when  the  mode  of  doing  it  was  probably  much 
more  elaborate,  Herodotus  describes  it  in  the  following  manner  : — 
"  There  are  certain  persons  appointed  for  the  purpose,  who  pro- 
fess this  art.  They  ask  in  which  of  the  three  ways  (differing  in 
price)  the  relations  wish  to  have  the  dead  person  buried.  The 
most  costly  manner  of  embalming  is  this.  They  first  extract  the 
brain  through  the  nostrils  by  means  of  a  crooked  piece  of  iron, 
and  pour  in  spices.  They  then  make  an  incision  in  the  loins 
with  a  sharp  Ethiopian  stone,  and  take  out  the  contents  of  the 
belly ;  and,  after  cleansing  the  cavity,  and  rinsing  it  with  palm 
wine,  fill  it  with  pounded  aromatics.  After  they  have  filled  the 
belly  with  pure  myrrh,  cinnamon,  and  other  spices,  with  the 


192  GENESIS  L.  4-11. 

exception  of  frankincense,  they  sew  it  up  again.  They  then  lay 
the  body  in  alkah,  keeping  it  covered  for  seventy  days ;  for  it  is 
not  lawful  to  keep  the  body  embalming  for  a  longer  time.  After 
this  they  wash  the  corpse,  and  then  wrap  up  the  whole  body  in 
bandages  cut  out  of  byssus  (fine  cotton),  and  smear  it  with  gum. 
The  relations  then  receive  it  back  again  ;  make  a  wooden  chest 
in  the  shape  of  a  man,  close  it,  and  put  it  upright  against  the 
wall,  in  the  vault  of  the  dead." — Herod.  B.  ii.  86.  The  reason 
of  this  custom  was  the  ancient  belief  of  the  Egyptians,  that  the 
soul  of  man  was  som.ething  immortal  and  independent,  which 
dwelt  in  the  body  as  its  house,  and  remained  about  it  as  long  as 
it  was  preserved,  but  then  passed  in  a  cycle  through  a  certain 
number  of  anim.als.  Besides  tliis,  there  was  a  great  respect  paid 
by  the  Egyptians  to  their  ancestors ;  and  it  was  a  custom  to 
bring  forth  these  mummies  on  the  occasion  of  family  festivals. 
They  thus  lived,  as  it  were,  among  their  deceased  relations — 
became  acquainted  with  their  features  and  stature.  Without 
partaking  in  the  superstition,  Joseph  might  yet  use  for  his  father's 
body  this  form  of  sepulture,  which  was  the  most  perfect  kind  in 
the  eyes  of  the  ancients.  Joseph  caused  his  servants,  his  physi- 
cians, to  undertake  this  business.  In  Egypt,  as  Herod  tells  us, 
there  was  a  particular  physician  for  every  disease.  This,  again, 
was  connected  with  their  religious  views  of  the  importance  of 
every  part  of  the  body.  The  mourning  for  a  king  at  a  later 
period  continued  for  seventy-two  days. 

Ver.  4.  House  of  Pharaoh. — Because,  in  the  time  of  mourning, 
when  his  beard  was  untrimmed  and  his  person  disfigured,  he 
could  not  speak  to  the  king. 

Ver.  10.  Seven  days. — In  no  countr}^  did  such  long  and  extra- 
vagant customs  of  mourning  prevail  as  in  Egypt.  "  When  a 
member  of  a  family  held  in  consideration  dies,  all  the  women 
cover  their  heads  and  faces  with  mud.  Then  leaving  the  corpse 
at  home,  tliey  go  about  the  town  with  their  clothes  girt  up,  and 
beat  themselves,  laying  bare  their  breasts:  on  the  other  side, 
the  men  strike  themselves,  girding  up  their  garments  like  the 
women." — Herod,  ii.  85.  In  the  mourning  for  a  king,  still 
more  extraordinary  customs  took  place — public  mourning  songs 
by  hundreds  of  people,  general  fasting,  etc. 

Ver.  11.  Ahel-mizrahn — the  "  plain  of  the  Eg^^otians."  In 
Hebrew,  "  mourning"  is  "Ebel,"  and  a  "plain"  "Abel."  From 


GENESIS  L.  17-27.  193 

this  circumstance  a  plain  lying  there  received  the  name  of  "  the 
Egyptian  ;"  while  the  resemblance  of  sound  contained  an  allusion 
to  the  mourning  held  there.  This  sort  of  play  of  words  is  not 
unusual  in  this  book  in  the  case  of  names.  This  place  lay  on 
the  other  side  Jordan,  as  the  Egyptians  did  not  take  the  direct 
road  (perhaps  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  passing  through  the 
intervening  land  of  the  Philistines),  but  passed  round  Mt.  Seir, 
and  halted  in  the  land  of  Moab.  From  thence  the  sons  of  Israel 
went  alone  into  the  land  of  the  Ilittites — probably  for  a  similar 
reason,  not  to  be  detained  by  the  Canaanitcs. 

Ver.  17.  Of  tliy  father. — The  father,  as  the  highest  judge  in 
the  family,  in  weighing  the  doings  of  his  sons  before  his  death, 
makes  this  request  for  forgiveness.  Jacob,  however,  could  only 
ask,  as  Joseph  had  the  power  in  his  own  hands.  The  last  words 
of  the  l)rothers  may  well  be  supposed  to  mean  :  "  As  our  father 
has  spoken  in  the  name  of  God,  and  we  in  common  honour 
this  one  God,  so  do  you  regard  this  expression  of  his  wish  as 
the  will  of  God." 

Ver.  19.  In  the  'place  of  God. — God  had  shown  His  forgive- 
ness by  turning  their  evil  deeds  to  the  good  of  all.  This  is  a 
sign  to  Joseph,  and  he  could  not  therefore  dare  to  take  revenge 
for  them. 

Ver.  20.  Much  people  alive. — The  revelation  of  the  most  won- 
derful and  gracious  mystery  of  the  Divine  love  and  might,  which 
no  man  could  frustrate,  nay,  the  changing  of  evil  into  good  and 
blessing,  was  a  thought  which  seems  to  have  filled  the  mind  of 
Joseph  with  admiration  all  his  life  through.  His  brothers  do  not 
appear  capable  of  understanding  his  character,  which  was  far 
above  all  thoughts  of  vengeance. 

Ver.  21.  Kindly  to  them. — Lit.  :  "  He  spake  to  their  hearts;" 
so  that  his  words  dropped  like  balsam  on  then'  wounds.  A 
beautiful  descriptive  expression  often  occurring. 

Ver.  27.  In  a  coffin  in  Egypt, — As  the  bodies  of  Egyptian 
kings  are  still  to  be  found  in  wooden  chests. — This  first  book  of 
Moses  concludes  with  an  act  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  dying 
Joseph,  which  connects  it  with  the  second,  and  points  to  the 
fulfilment  of  the  promises  which  now  follows. 


N 


THE  SECOND  BOOK  OF  MOSES, 

CALLED  EXODUS  (MARCHING  OUT). 


CHAPTER  L 


I.  The  number  of  the  cliildren  of  Israel.  II.  The  oppression 
of  them.  III.  The  command  of  the  king  to  slay  all  the  male 
children. 

In  the  rich  and  fruitful  land  of  Egypt,  and  especially  in  that 
lovely  part  of  it,  the  country  of  Goshen,  had  the  descendants  of 
Israel  become  a  great,  powerful  people,  amounting  to  more  than 
two  million  souls.  We  here  behold  the  first  instance  of  that  re- 
markable phenomenon,  which  afterwards  is  often  presented  to 
our  view, — that  God's  covenanted  people  are  placed  beside  and 
in  the  midst  of  the  most  cultivated  and  powerful  nations  of 
antiquity  in  order  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  their  worldly 
civilisation  ;  at  the  same  time,  by  their  marked  severance  from 
the  idolatry  of  these  nations,  and  by  their  permanence  (while  one 
people  after  another  beside  them  decayed  and  passed  away),  to 
bear  witness  to  their  own  Divine  origin.  Egypt  is  that  ancient 
kingdom  which  has  erected  monuments  of  its  grandeur  surpassing 
those  of  any  early  state,  which  still  remain,  and  astonish  us  by 
the  magnificence  of  their  design  and  by  the  degree  of  cultiva- 
tion displayed  in  tliem.  The  very  nature  of  the  country  itself  is 
most  peculiar.  From  two  great  streams,  one  of  which  rises  in 
Abyssinia,  the  other  in  the  S.W.  of  Ethiopia,  is  formed  the  very 
remarkable,  broad  river  of  the  Nile,  from  which  the  land  derives 
its  very  existence.     It  receives  only  one  great  accession  of  water 


196  EXODUS  I. 

in  Nubia,  and  thence  pursues  its  solitary  course  of  above  800 
miles  through  vast  arid  deserts,  where  it  scarcely  ever  rains. 
And  yet,  though  itself  alone  passes  through  this  ocean  of  sand, 
is  it  able  by  its  overflowings  to  make  the  valley  and  the  region 
of  its  passage  the  most  productive  land  in  the  world.  Here  had 
settled,  long  before  Abraham's  time  (perhaps  among  the  original 
dwellers — herdsmen  or  fishermen),  a  distinguished  Canaanitish 
people.  A  priestly  caste  (with  a  military  caste  under  it)  brought 
into  subjection,  by  means  of  intellectual  superiority,  the  rude 
aborigines.  By  means  of  its  observance  of  the  regular  recur- 
rence of  heavenly  and  natural  phenomena,  and  a  more  suitable 
arrangement  of  times  and  seasons,  in  respect  to  matters  of  com- 
mon life,  which  resulted  from  this ;  by  the  use  of  rude  figures 
of  beasts  and  plants,  which  the  fishermen  of  the  Nile  wor- 
shipped ;  and  likewise  by  an  artful  employment  of  the  sensual 
propensities  of  a  gross  people, — were  they  enabled  to  establish  a 
religious  and  political  constitution  which  endm'ed  and  flourished 
for  many  centuries.  On  the  vast  monuments  of  the  "  hundred- 
gated  "  Thebes,  and  other  places,  have  the  whole  mode  of  life 
and  history  of  this  people  been  represented  in  the  language  of 
hieroglyphics.  And  in  our  days,  after  the  key  had  been  dis- 
covered more  than  forty  years,  have  these  ancient  inscriptions 
been  gradually  and  painfully  deciphered,  to  the  great  gain  of 
our  interpretation  of  Scripture.  And  now,  as  if  out  of  the  dark- 
ness of  the  grave  of  those  early  times,  an  ancient  history  rises 
aft-esh  to  the  light  of  day.  From  these  sources  are  we  now  able 
to  perceive  how  cultivated,  how  industrious,  how  acquainted 
with  the  arts  and  sciences,  was  that  people  among  whom  the 
Israelites  sojourned  for  more  than  400  years.  We  are  no  longer 
astonished  at  the  ingenuity  displayed  in  the  building  of  the 
Tabernacle,  at  the  wealth  in  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones, 
at  the  frequent  use  of  the  art  of  writing,  which  the  four  last 
books  of  Moses  mention.  But  as  we  become  better  acquainted 
with  the  worship  of  Nature,  which  was  so  deeply  rooted,  so 
highly  perfected,  and  so  interwoven  in  all  the  relations  of  life 
among  the  Egyptians,  our  astonishment  is  heightened  at  the 
near  approach  to,  nay,  the  imitation  of  the  model ;  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  the  clearly  marked  line  of  separation  which  distin- 
guished all  the  rehgious  and  political  institutions  of  the  Israelites 
from  those  of  the  Egyptians. 


EXODUS  T.  107 

We  may  conclude  from  the  words  of  Joseph  (Gen.  xlvi.  31, 
32)  that  the  Israelites  pursued  in  Egypt — in  the  pasture  lands 
of  Goshen,  on  the  borders  of  the  Avilderness — that  patriarchal, 
pastoral  mode  of  life  which  their  fathers  had  done  in  Canaan. 
But  we  are  expressly  told  that  they  likewise  followed  field  till- 
agie  and  gardening  (cf.  xlv.  10,  note).  They  sowed  and  watered 
after  the  manner  of  the  Egyptians  (Dcut.  xi.  10,  11).  They 
cultivated  cucumbers,  melons,  leeks,  onions  (Num.  xi.  5).  There 
were  "cunning"  artificers  among  them,  who  could  work  in  cutting 
precious  stones,  in  gold  and  in  silver  (Exod.  xxxv.  32,  33). 
They  learned  the  arts  of  weaving,  spinning,  the  preparation  of 
leather,  from  the  people,  the  most  celebrated  in  the  ancient 
world  as  the  inventors  of  such  arts.  They  made  the  bricks  for 
the  fortresses,  Pithom  and  Rameses.  They  dwelt  in  the  greatest 
cities  of  a  rich  nation,  in  the  royal  metropolis  (ch.  ii.),  and  even 
a  great  many  of  them  in  the  same  houses  with  the  Egyptians 
(Exod.  xi.  2).  Even  when  living  among  the  dominant  people, 
they  were  governed  by  the  heads  of  their  own  tribes,  who  had 
gradually  sprung  up  from  out  of  the  original  family  government 
of  the  patriarchs.  Moreover,  we  find  scribes  (Schoterim)  men- 
tioned (translated  "  officers").  These  had  the  superintendence 
of  the  people  at  these  works,  and  in  the  wilderness  performed 
duties  which,  in  after  times,  more  especially  devolved  on  the 
Levites. — Divided  into  separate  famiUes,  the  Israelites  had  no 
public  place  or  mode  of  worship.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the 
traditions  of  the  promises  made  to  their  fathers,  and  the  hope  of 
the  future  possession  of  Canaan,  still  survived  among  them ;  and 
this  was  doubtless  the  reason  why  the  king  who  "  knew  not 
Joseph "  was  under  apprehension  lest  they  should  leave  the 
country  and  join  themselves  to  the  enemies  of  Egypt ;  but  the 
Eg3'ptian  mode  of  thinking  and  living  had,  nevertheless,  ex- 
ercised a  very  powerful  influence  over  them.  Ezekiel  describes, 
in  general  terms,  their  propensity  to  Egyptian  idolatry  in  this 
time  (ch.  xxiii.,  ch.  xx.  7,  8),  the  last  remains  of  which  Joshua 
afterwards  was  obliged  to  eradicate  (Joshua  xxiv.  14).  But 
especially  do  we  find  that  in  the  wilderness  they  desired  to  wor- 
ship the  God  who  had  saved  them,  after  the  Egyptian  fashion  in 
the  form  of  a  calf.  And  even  after  the  extinction  of  open 
idolatry  they  secretly  practised  the  worship  of  the  sun  and  the 
stars,  and  the  still  more   abominable  Egyptian   goat-worship 


198  EXODUS  I.  4-10. 

(Amos  V.  25,  2G  ;  Lev.  xvii.  7).  The  mind  of  the  people  was 
debased  during  the  time  of  their  degrading  bondage, — so  much 
so,  that  they  esteemed  the  freedom  and  independence  under  God's 
guidance  in  the  wilderness,  too  dearly  purchased  by  the  sacrifice 
of  the  comforts  which  the  life  in  Egypt  afforded  them.  They 
had  become  a  servile,  effeminate  people,  impatient  of  contjlbl, 
and  fickle.  They  held  in  the  greatest  contempt  that  which 
ought  to  have  been  their  peculiar  privilege  above  all  other 
people.  Of  all  men  they  seemed  the  most  unfit  to  carry  out  the 
Divine  purposes  of  mercy  concerning  them  (Deut.  ix.  4,  etc.). 
Such  was  the  condition  of  the  people  which  the  Lord^for  His 
promise's  sake  made  to  their  fathers,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
blessing  which  through  them  should  descend  on  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth — redeemed  out  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand.  Since 
holy  Scripture  only  narrates  the  Divine  acts  for  the  preservation 
and  blessing  of  His  people,  we  are  told  merely  those  circum- 
stances which  happened  to  the  Israelites  so  far  as  they  were  the 
immediate  occasion  of  their  freedom.  There  is,  therefore,  no 
gap  in  the  history,  but  just  a  brief  review  of  what  took  place 
from  the  time  of  Joseph  to  that  of  Moses. 

I  Ver.  4.  Asher. — In  this  enumeration  the  sons  of  Jacob's  two 
wives  are  first  named,  and  then  those  of  the  two  maid-servants, 
in  the  order  in  which  they  were  born. 

Ver.  5.  Seventy. — A  round  number,  since,  in  order  to  make 
up  literally  the  full  sum  named,  we  must  reckon  Joseph  and  his 
two  sons  among  them. 

Ver.  8.  New  king. — It  has  been  supposed,  not  without  reason, 
that  the  new  king  belonged  to  another  dynasty,  as  many  such 
ruled  over  the  Egyptians  and  oppressed  the  people.  Perhaps 
the  Egyptian  monuments  will,  on  further  inquiry,  affbrd  some 
additional  light  on  the  subject.  (It  is  supposed  that  the  dynasty 
of  Hyksos,  or  shepherd  kings,  were  rulers  of  Egypt  when  Joseph 
and  his  brethren  settled  there.  This  dynasty  was  expelled,  and 
held  in  particular  detestation  by  the  Egyptians.) 

Ver.  10.  Get  them  up. — Literally,  "  mount  up  from  the  land," 
out  of  the  lower  Egypt  to  the  higher  country  of  Canaan.  Tlie 
hope  of  the  Israelites,  that  they  should  some  day  possess  the  Pro- 
mised Land,  was  so  rife  among  them,  that  even  the  Egyptians 
were  aware  of  it.  The  king  feared  the  too  great  increase  of  the 
Israelites,  but  nevertheless  was  unwilling  to  lose  them  as  sub- 


EXODUS  I.  11-U.  199 

jects.  And  so  afterwards,  in  his  bloody  command  to  kill  the 
male  children,  he  was  still  desirous  of  keeping  the  females  as 
slaves  in  his  land.  Had  any  perceptible  decrease  of  their  num- 
bers taken  place,  he  would  have  put  a  stop  to  the  murder  of  the 
male  children.  A  considerable  number  of  foreign  labourers  was 
most  needful  for  the  completion  of  the  vast  temples,  palaces,  and 
canals  in  which  almost  all  the  Egyptian  kings  were  engaged. 
On  one  of  the  temples  which  the  great  conqueror,  King  Sesostris 
or  Rameses,  caused  to  be  built,  the  inscription  was  placed,  "  No 
native  hath  laboured  on  this." 

Ver.  11.  Burdens. — A  measure  adopted  by  tyrants  of  ancient 
and  modern  times,  especially  in  the  East,  and  even  now  in  prac- 
tice in  Egypt,  in  order  to  keep  down  all  attempt  at  insurrection 
among  the  people. 

Treasure-cities. — In  the  west  of  the  most  western,  the  Pelusian 
branch  of  the  Nile,  where  anciently  the  city  Bubastes  stood, 
a  valley  (viz.,  the  Wady  Tumleat)  intersects  the  Arabian  chain 
of  mountains  which  runs  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile  from 
south  to  north.  Here  was  the  canal  which,  in  ancient  times, 
connected  the  Nile  with  the  Gulf  of  Suez.  In  this  valley  (pro- 
bably the  most  southern  part  of  the  land  of  Goshen)  were 
situated  the  two  cities,  Pithom,  Pathumos,  and  to  the  west, 
Rameses,  near  the  Greek  city  Heroonpolis.  Now  the  places 
Abassieh  and  Abu-Keischeid  stand  on  their  ruins  :  the  first  on 
those  of  Pithom,  the  latter  on  those  of  Rameses.  This  was  the 
most  accessible  point  from  which  Egypt  could  be  attacked  on  the 
side  of  Arabia,  and  therefore  these  frontier  fortresses  were  built 
there.  They  were  intended  at  the  same  time  to  serve  for 
"  treasure-houses,"  i.e.,  magazines  and  war  store-houses.  The 
principal  places  of  the  military  caste  were  in  this  region,  as  we 
learn  from  other  accounts. 

Ver.  12.  Multiplied. — Even  under  oppression  did  the  Church 
of  God  in  the  old  covenant  increase  and  thrive. 

Ver.  14.  Brick. — A  great  many  of  the  still  existing  Egyptian 
edifices  are  built  of  brick,  or  so-called  "  air-stones,"  i.  e.,  baked  in 
the  open  air.  They  were  made  of  a  white  chalky  kind  of  earth, 
mixed  with  straw,  and  hardened  in  the  sun,  but  not  burnt. — 
Lately  there  has  been  found  in  the  environs  of  the  ancient 
capital  city  Thebes,  in  the  tomb  of  a  royal  architect,  a  A-ery  early 
and  remarkable  painting.     On  it  are  represented  workmen  carry- 


200  EXODUS  I.  15-19. 

ing  clay  in  vessels,  while  others  are  shaping  it  with  hatchets — 
others  drawing  the  bricks  out  of  the  moulds — others  laying  them 
out  in  rows,  while  a  great  many  are  employed  in  carrying  them 
away  after  they  have  been  dried.  The  workmen  are  not  Egyp- 
tians ;  but  in  complexion  and  dress  are  represented  like  all  the 
foreigners  from  Upper  Asia.  In  feature  they  resemble  the  Jews 
of  the  present  time.  It  would  seem  as  though  in  this  paint- 
ing we  possessed  a  representation  of  the  subject  of  the  history 
before  us. 

Field. — Eg}'pt  was  a  most  productive  country ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  one  which  required  laborious  care  in  cultivation, 
since  its  rich  harvest  was  bestowed  only  in  return  for  vast  irriga- 
tion by  means  of  canals,  ducts,  and  other  appliances  for  supply- 
ing water.  Therefore,  even  up  to  the  present  time,  when  the 
magnificent  works  of  antiquity  are  for  the  most  part  fallen  into 
decay,  troops  of  men  are  from  time  to  time  pressed  into  this  kind 
of  service.  Since  in  Egypt  the  fields  are  not  worked  as  with  us, 
but  the  seed  sown  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  inundated,  in  this 
irrigation  consists  the  hardest  labour.  In  many  places  vast 
watering  machines  are  drawn  by  horses  and  oxen ;  in  smaller 
places,  wound  by  men,  or  the  buckets  carried  by  them. 

Ver.  15.  Puah. — The  two  chief  among  them,  through  whom 
his  command  was  to  be  communicated  to  the  others.  In  a 
country  so  regulated  according  to  caste,  even  in  the  most  trifling 
particulars,  this  office  had  its  heads,  who  were  responsible  for  the 
others. 

Ver.  1 6.  Stools ;  or  "  stone  vessel,"  in  Avhich  the  new-born 
child  was  received  at  the  birth.  (This  by  some  is  supposed  to 
be  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word,  which  only  again  occurs, 
Jer.  xviii.  4  ;  the  Sept.  merely  has  "  when  they  are  in  labour.") 

Ver.  19.  Lively. — Or,  perhaps,  in  the  Heb.,  "  they  are 
beasts ; "  i.e.,  as  the  animals,  which  bring  forth  without  the  help  of 
midwives.  Possibly  this  was  not  entirely  a  pretence.  At  this 
day  there  is  the  greatest  difference  in  this  respect  between  the 
Arabians  of  the  desert  and  those  wlio  live  in  towns.  Thus  the 
greater  part  of  the  Israelites  was  employed  in  pastoral,  garden, 
or  field  labours,  and  only  a  very  small  portion  in  sedentary  oc- 
cupations, which  the  Egyptians  especially  pursued. 

Delivered. — The  whole  transaction  was  a  secret  one.  Pharaoh 
did  not  dare  at  first  to  make  known  this  command,  unexampled 


EXODUS  I.  21,  22  ;   IT.  1-6.  201 

as  it  was  in  cruelty,  eitlier  because  he  feared  an  insurrection,  or 
out  of  shame.  For  this  reason  he  did  not  inflict  any  punishment 
on  the  raidwives,  as  they  feared  God  more  than  the  king,  though 
their  faith  was  too  weak  openly  to  declare  what  they  had  done 
without  any  falsehood. 

Ver.  21.  Houses;  i.e.,  He  gave  them  a  numerous  and  blessed 
posterity.  As  they  preserved  the  people  and  promoted  their  in- 
crease, therefore  God  blessed  them  in  the  preservation  and  in- 
crease of  their  families. 

Ver.  22.  Save  alive. — The  savage  cruelty  of  the  king  increases. 
What  at  the  first  he  had  commanded  and  thought  to  execute  in 
secrecy,  he  now  publishes  abroad.  A  sore  trial  of  the  faith  of  the 
Israelites,  to  find  that  the  fear  of  God  which  actuated  the  mid- 
wives,  and  the  blessing  which  accompanied  this  fresh  increase  of 
the  people,  only  served  to  bring  upon  them  additional  persecu- 
tion. But  they  were  yet  to  wait  a  long  while  for  deliverance, 
and  to  experience  a  degree  of  oppressive  servitude  more  severe 
than  any  heretofore,  before  they  were  released. — But  in  the 
whole  of  this  history,  as  in  so  many  in  the  O.  T.,  sin  and  its 
])unishment  are  shoAvn  to  us  in  a  close  relation  to  each  other. 
As  the  children  of  the  Israelites  were  thrown  into  the  water,  so  do 
we  find  that  the  Egyptians  themselves  perish  in  the  water.  "  All 
these  plans  of  Pharaoh  are  destmed  to  come  to  nought.  Per- 
secution and  death  cannot  damage  the  Church  of  God.  The 
Christian  is  not  weakened  thereby;  but  the  Church  ever  in- 
creases under  the  Cross,  under  the  tyranny  of  the  world  and  of 
the  Devil :  as  an  old  doctor  of  the  Church,  Tertullian,  hath  said, 
'  The  Church  is  watered  by  the  blood  of  Christians.'  " — Luther. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ver.  1.  Daughter  of  Levi. — Their  names,  see  ch.  vi.  20. 

Ver.  3.  Ai'k. — A  small  boat  of  the  papyrus  plant.  Larger 
vessels  made  from  this  wood  were  also  common  on  the  Nile  at 
that  time. 

Pitch. — Bitumen,  asphalt,  as  Gen.  xiv.  10,  note. 

Ver.  6.  Hebrews. — She  knew  this  from  the  fact  of  his  exposure. 


202  EXODUS  II.  7-11. 

Ver.  7.  Hebrew  loomen. — Because  an  Egyptian  nurse  would 
have  neglected  or  betrayed  it. 

Ver.  8.  Mother. — So,  by  a  merciful  arrangement  of  God's 
providence,  the  mother  received  her  child  back  again,  and  kept 
it  with  her  until  its  third  year,  when  children  were  wont  to  be 
weaned. 

Ver.  10.  Moses. — The  name  "  Moscheh  "  is  originally  Egyp- 
tian, as  Pharaoh's  diiughter  could  only  give  it  a  name  in  that 
language.  Probably  it  was  pronounced  Mo-udsche — one  saved 
out  of  the  water ;  and  so  the  old  Greek  translators,  who  lived 
in  Egypt,  always  write  it  Moyses.  The  Israehtes  afterwards 
formed  out  of  this  Egyptian  word  "  Moscheh,"  which  signifies  in 
Hebrew  "  a  leader  out."  Probably  the  early  translation  of  this 
name  into  the  Hebrew  meaning,  might  contribute  to  inspire 
Moses  with  the  thought  of  liberating  his  people. 

Ver.  11.  Burdens. — Moses  did  this  "through  faith,"  Heb.  xi.  24. 
He  despised  that  which  was  visible,  and  held  fast  to  the  grace 
promised  to  his  people.  But  right  as  was  this  beginning,  yet 
must  his  faith  be  purified.  God  dwelleth  with  those  alone  who 
are  of  a  broken  heart.  This  energetic,  highly-endowed  man 
must  be  bowed  down ;  his  heart  must  become  accustomed  to 
quiet,  to  patience,  to  implicit  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  the  strength  of  the  grey-headed  old  man,  now  broken,  and 
no  longer  resisting  God's  purpose — no  longer  occupied  with  the 
thought  of  his  first  attempt — which  can  become  the  instrument 
in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  for  the  salvation  of  His  people.  Accord- 
ing to  Acts  vii.  22,  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians  ;  which  could  not  be  otherwise  with  one  brought  up  in 
the  court  of  the  king  (the  Egyptian  kings  belonged  to  the  priest 
caste),  and  which,  indeed,  the  law  given  by  God  through  him 
attests.  All  the  other  circumstances  which  are  narrated  con- 
cerning his  early  life  elsewhere  than  in  Scripture, — such  as,  by 
Josephus,  that  he  was  a  successful  general  in  a  war  against  the 
Ethiopians, — rest  on  uncertain  tradition,  which  sought  to  exalt 
the  man  of  God  after  human  notions  of  greatness. 

Smiting. — In  the  Hebrew  the  same  word  stands  as  in  the  fol- 
lowing verse  Avitli  respect  to  the  Egyptian.  He  smote  the 
Hebrew  with  purpose  to  kill  him.  The  Egyptians,  after  the  last 
command  of  Pharaoh,  thought  themselves  at  liberty  to  do  any- 
thing they  pleased  against  the  Israelites. 


EXODUS  II.  12,  15.  203 

Ver.  12.  In  the  sand. — "  lie  hid  him  in  the  sand,"  for  he  was 
in  the  land  of  Goshen  on  the  borders  of  the  desert. — In  passing 
judgment  on  this  act,  we  must  consider  that  it  was  no  murder, 
but  a  manslaughter,  which  by  the  law  was  leniently  regarded, 
and  permission  given  in  such  a  case  for  the  slayer  to  flee  to  the 
cities  of  refuge  (Lev.  xxxv.  9,  etc.).  The  conduct  of  Moses 
may  well  receive  some  justification  from  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  and  it  belongs  to  those  actions  which  the  world's  history 
praises  as  noble ;  but,  in  the  judgment  of  God's  Word,  it  is  a 
self-willed  intrusion  on  the  rights  of  Him  to  wdiom  "  vengeance 
belongeth  "  (Deut.  xxxii.  35),  and  who  on  earth  hath  appointed 
His  delegates,  the  magistrates,  to  execute  it.  St  Matt.  xxvi.  52. 
It  therefore  receives  chastisement,  and  that  at  once.  Augustine's 
words  on  tliis  act  are  admirable  (contra  Faustum  22,  70)  :  "If 
I  weigh  the  eternal  law  of  God,  I  find  that  he  who  did  not 
possess  judicial  authority  ought  not  to  have  slain  this  man, 
though  a  wrongdoer  and  a  sinner.  But  noble  souls,  who  are 
capable  of  great  virtues,  often  commit  first  great  mistakes,  show- 
ing thereby  to  what  a  degree  of  virtue  they  are  designed,  after 
the  soil  has  been  cultivated  through  God's  laws.  So  does  the 
husbandman,  when  he  sees  a  field  produce  an  immense  crop  of 
weeds,  conclude  that,  though  this  must  be  rooted  up,  still  the 
land  is  well  fitted  for  the  growth  of  corn.  Thus  did  the  Lord 
call  Saul  from  heaven  while  persecuting  Plis  Church  :  cast  him 
down — raise  him  up — fill  him  with  Ilis  Spirit — tear  him  up — 
prune — transplant — make  fruitful.  Thus  did  the  Lord  rebuke 
Peter  when  he  drew  his  sword  and  cut  off  the  ear  of  His  perse- 
cutor, because  he  shed  blood  without  lawful  authority.  And  yet 
He  makes  him  the  chief  pastor  of  His  Church."  The  Jewish 
tradition  viewed  this  history  in  a  similar  way,  which  Mohammed 
followed,  who,  in  the  Koran,  narrates  it  with  the  following  addi- 
tion : — "  But  thereupon,  after  he  had  come  to  himself,  he  made 
the  confession.  This  which  I  have  done  is  a  work  of  the  devil, 
who  plainly  tempts  to  sin ;  and  he  prayed,  O  Lord,  I  have  done  a 
wrong  against  my  own  soul,  yet  do  Thou  forgive  me.  So  God 
forgave  him — the  God  who  is  so  willing  to  forgive  sin." 

Ver.  15.  Mldian. — On  the  peninsula  of  Mount  Sinai,  between 
the  two  gulfs  of  the  Red  Sea — probably  on  the  western  coast  of 
the  Gulf  of  Akaba.  Tlic  INIidianites  were  descendants  of  Abraham 
(Gen.  XXV.  2),  and  therefore,  probably,  servants  of  the  true  God. 


204  EXODUS  II.  16-24. 

Ver.  16.  Priest. — A  priest  of  the  true  God;  see  verse  above. 
In  verse  18  the  father  is  called  Reuel;  ch.  iii.  1,  Moses' 
father-in-law  and  the  priest  of  Midian  is  called  Jethro ;  Num. 
X.  29,  Hobab.  It  is  clear  from  the  last-mentioned  place  that 
Reuel  was  Hobab's  father.  The  names  Jethro  and  Hobab  are 
synonymous  (the  precious,  the  beloved),  and  represent  the  same 
person.  Accordingly,  Reuel,  here  called  "father,"  was  the 
grandfather,  and  pi-obably  the  hereditary  office  of  the  priesthood 
was  exercised  by  Jethro  in  conjunction  with  his  father;  or,  per- 
haps, before  the  events  mentioned,  ch.  iii.,  Reuel  was  dead,  and 
Jethro,  his  son,  had  succeeded  to  his  office. 

Ver.  22.  Strange  land. — Sign.  "  expulsion."  Moses'  explana- 
tion is  to  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  play  on  the  sound  of  the  word, 
"a  stranger"  (Ger)  there  (scham).  Moses  had  fled  in  the  di- 
rection of  Canaan,  and  had  taken  refuge  with  a  people  descended 
from  Abraham.  He  there  gave  witness  by  this  name  that  he 
still  held  fast  to  the  promises  made  to  the  fathers. — In  the  old 
Latin  Version  the  words  ft'om  ch.  xviii.  4  are  added,  "  And  she 
bare  yet  a  son,  whom  he  called  Eliezer,  and  said,  The  God  of 
my  father  is  my  Helper,  and  hath  saved  me  from  the  hand  of 
Pharaoh."  "Eliezer"  sign.  "  God  is  help."  This  name,  even 
more  than  the  former  one,  has  a  reference  to  his  hope  and  belief. 
It  is  remarkable  how,  with  the  utter  destruction  of  all  prospects, 
still  his  calm  trust  on  God  as  the  God  of  his  father,  i.e.  Abraham, 
increases. 

Ver.  23.  Died. — Viz.,  the  same  from  whom  Moses  had  fled. 
Whether  this  was  the  father  of  ^Moses'  foster-mother  (in  which 
case  he  must  have  reigned  more  than  60  years)  cannot  be  known 
with  certainty.  The  Pharaoh  who  succeeds  acts  just  in  the  same 
way  as  the  one  first  mentioned  in  this  book.  Indeed  the  position 
of  the  king  (as  of  the  whole  people)  had  become,  quite  indepen- 
dently of  the  person  who  occupied  the  throne,  one  of  decided 
hostility  towards  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  23.  Cry. — Their  cry  of  anguish,  the  dire  necessity  of 
His  chosen  people,  reached  Him  and  moved  His  compassion. 

Ver.  24.  Jacob. — Cf.  Gen.  viii.  1,  note. 


EXODUS  III.  1-6.  205 


CHAPTER  ni. 

Ver.  1.  Kept. — Heb. :  "  Was  a  shepherd  of  the  sheep  ;"  i.e., 
this  was  his  regidar  calling.  He  served  for  Zipporali  as  Jacob 
had  done  with  Laban.  Here,  in  this  calm  shepherd's  life,  did 
Moses  become  disciplined,  and  freed  from  that  sinful  impatience 
and  ungodly  impetuosity  which  had  been  displayed  in  his  former 
life. 

Iloreh. — Midian  lay  on  the  western  coast  of  the  Gulf  Akaba, 
so  Horeb  was  two  days'  journey  distant  from  thence.  A  wide 
tract  of  country  for  a  shepherd. 

Ver.  2.  Angel. — The  "  Angel  of  the  Lord  "  appears  to  him ; 
but  afterwards  it  is  God  who  speaks  to  him.    Cf.  Gen.  xvi.  7,  note. 

Bush ;  i.e.,  he  saw  no  form,  but  afterwards  heard  a  voice, 
which  came  to  his  ears  out  of  the  bush. 

Consumed. — The  fire  which  lights  up  but  does  not  consume 
points,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  tribulations  which  then  visited 
the  people  of  Israel ;  on  the  other  hand,  light  and  fire  are  con- 
stant emblems  of  the  Divine  glory.  The  figures  combined  repre- 
sent, that  the  affliction  is  sent  from  God ;  that  by  means  of  it 
God  will  reveal  Himself  to  His  people,  but  not  consume  them. 
The  emblem  of  the  Scottish  Church  is  a  burning  bush,  with  the 
words,  "nee  tamen  consumebatur,"  "and  yet  was  not  consumed." 

Ver.  5.  Holy  ground. — Moses,  who  had  not  as  yet  been  visited 
with  any  Divine  vision,  is  taught  by  the  voice  the  needful  reli- 
gious reverence  from  which  alone  can  result  that  calmness,  that 
obedient  spirit  of  willingness  to  hear  God's  words,  which  arc  re- 
quired in  order  to  become  a  receiver  of  a  Divine  revelation. 
The  place  is  marked  by  God  as  "  holy  ground,"  as  the  mountain 
is  called  above  (ver.  1)  a  mount  of  God,  because  it  is  destined 
soon  to  become  the  place  of  His  greatest  revelations  :  ver.  12. 
Horeb  and  Sinai  form  one  range  of  mountains.  In  the  presence 
of  kings  the  dust-soiled  shoes  must  be  laid  aside,  and  also,  pro- 
bably, among  the  Egyptians  dui'ing  sacrifice.  With  such  marks 
of  reverence  is  ISIoses  to  approach  the  great  sight. 

Ver.  6.  Father. — Abraham  is  here  to  be  understood  as  !Moses' 


206  EXODUS  III.  8. 

father ;  and  thus  the  following  words  explain  the  foregoing,  since 
the  "  God  of  Abraham"  is  the  God  of  his  covenant.  It  is  said, 
not  "  of  thy  fathers,"  because  not  only  are  Isaac  and  Jacob,  as 
his  descendants,  included  in  him,  but  also  God's  covenant  with 
them  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham.  Isaac  and  Jacob  are  named 
in  order  to  show  that  the  covenanted  relationship  which  began 
with  Abraham,  was  a  continuous  and  eternal  one.  In  what 
manner,  from  the  words,  "the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,"  Christ  deduces  their  personal  immortality,  see  St  Matt, 
xxii.  32,  note. 

Afraid. — Of  Gen.  xvi.  13,  note. 

Yer.  8.  Milk  and  honey. — The  land  which  God  promises  to 
them  is  here  called  a  "  good" — i.e.,  rich,  fertile — and  a  "  large  " 
land,  in  contrast  to  the  narrow,  over-peopled  valley  of  the  Nile. 
The  fruitfulness  is  more  closely  designated  by  the  abundance  of 
milk  and  honey,  which  products  betoken  a  land  naturally  pro- 
ductive, in  contrast  with  the  artificial  fertility  of  Egypt :  so  cli. 
xiii.  5  (cf.  the  glorious  description  with  which  Joel  draws  out 
these  words,  ch.  ii.  23).  Still  more  completely  is  the  fertility  of 
Canaan  described,  Deut.  viii.  7-9  ;  and  its  advantages  over 
Egypt — Deut.  xi.  10,  11 — are  represented  as  consisting  in  this, 
that  the  cultivation  is  not  nearly  so  laborious,  by  reason  of  the 
abundance  of  rain.  With  this  description  agrees  that  (among 
others)  given  by  the  Roman  historian  Tacitus,  who  says.  Hist. 
V.  6  :  "  The  land  is  fruitful ;  there  is  an  abundance  of  the  same 
produce  which  grows  with  us,  and,  in  addition,  the  balsam  and 
date  trees"  (cf.  Gen.  xliii.  11,  note).  The  present  barrenness  of 
the  land  is  in  a  great  measure  the  fault  of  its  inhabitants — the 
Turks  and  Arabs — whose  lot  it  has  been,  wherever  they  settled, 
to  turn  the  most  fruitful  countries  into  deserts  (cf.  Gen.  xi.  1, 
ch.  xlv.  10,  note).  On  the  high  grounds,  in  many  districts,  are 
still  visible  the  marks  of  the  former  rich  cultivation.  If  we  add 
to  what  is  here  said  the  description  in  Deut.  viii.  7,  where  it  is 
expressly  declared  to  be  "  a  land  of  brooks  and  fountains,  and 
depths  that  spring  out  of  valleys  and  hills,"  and  listen  to  the 
concurrent  testimony  of  modern  travellers,  who  describe  the  pre- 
sent country  of  Palestine  as  especially  deficient  in  brooks  and 
streams,  we  must  perceive  in  this  change,  surely,  the  fulfilment 
of  the  oft-threatened  prophetic  curse  ;  e.  g.,  Deut.  xxviii.  23,  24. 
The   instruments   of  the  fulfilment  of  this  have  been — great 


EXODUS  III.  12-14.  207 

natural  changes,  the  destruction  of  many  forests  on  the  hills, 
and  the  barbarian  settlers  in  the  country. 

Jehusites. — The  most  distinguished  people  who  are  mentioned. 
Gen.  X.  15-17,  as  descendants  of  Canaan.  For  the  Perizzites, 
■who  do  not  there  appear,  see  Gen.  xiii.  7,  note. 

Ver.  12.  Mountain. — The  commission  which  Moses  received 
was  this :  to  lead  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt  to  Canaan. 
But  as  the  delivery  of  the  law  on  Sinai  lay  in  the  midst  of  it, 
this  event  was  to  be  the  m-eatest  confirmation  of  his  Divine  mis- 
sion.  In  leading  the  people  to  Sinai,  Moses  fulfilled  a  part,  but 
very  far  from  the  greatest  or  most  difficult  part,  of  his  mission. 
The  40  years  in  the  wilderness  were  far  more  trying — put  his 
faith,  his  endurance,  his  patience  far  more  to  the  test — than  the 
delivering  the  people  out  of  Egypt.  In  this  the  natural  dispo- 
sition of  Moses,  his  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  love  of  freedom,  were 
able  to  find  greater  scope.  Therefore  "the  sign"  Avhich  God 
promised  to  him  was  designed  to  impress  the  seal  on  this  portion 
of  his  life,  in  order  to  prepare  and  fortify  him  for  the  times  of 
severer  trial. 

Ver.  13.  What  shall  I  say  ? — The  heathen  nations  were  accus- 
tomed to  names  for  their  gods.  On  the  invention  of  these,  and 
the  communication  of  them  to  other  people,  as  we  learn  from  the 
Greeks,  the  Egyptians  particularly  prided  themselves.  The  de- 
sire for  a  name  for  God  contained,  however,  this  truth,  that  in 
the  name  the  personal,  self-cognisant  God  reveals  Himself  in  a 
distinct,  actual,  covenanted  relationship  to  men.  At  least  God 
gave  the  direction  in  very  early  times  to  this  wish.  And  here, 
especially,  where  God  did  not  indeed  reveal  anything  afresh,  but 
rather  commenced  a  new  order  of  revelations,  it  was  very  natural 
to  inquire  in  what  name  He  might  reveal  Himself;  i.e.,  in 
what  relationship  to  man  His  Divine  nature  would  now  make 
itself  known. 

Ver.  14.  I  am. — This  is  the  wonderful  expression  in  which  the 
name  "Jehovah,"  or  properly  "Jahveh,"  is  declared.  "I  shall  be" 
means  also  "  I  am,"  since  the  future  tense  with  names  in  Hebrew 
signifies  the  perpetual  continuance  of  that  which  the  name  be- 
tokens. Thus  "Jacob"  properly  means,  "he  will  seize  the 
heel;"  i.e.,  he  continually  lies  in  wait.  Craft  is  his  character- 
istic. "  Israel,"  properly,  "  he  will  overcome  God  ;"  i.e.,  he  over- 
comes Ilim  continually :  in  this  lies  the  essence  of  his  new  man. 


208  EXODUS  III.  14. 

And  here,  where  God  explains  the  name,  He  says,  "I  am  that  I 
am,"  which  He  afterwards  more  briefly  expresses  by  "  I  am." 
This  word  in  Hebrew  is  "Ehjeh;"  in  the  old  language,  "Ehveh." 
Thus  God  speaks  of  Himself  in  the  first  person.  But  when  God 
is  spoken  of  by  others,  or  when  He  speaks  of  Himself,  as  of  the 
already  known  and  revealed,  He  says,  "  I  am  Jehovah,"  I  am 
Jahveh ;  i.e.,  "  I  am  He  is,"' — ■!  am  He  who  is  known  unto  you 
under  the  name  "He  is."  "This  name  signifies  'He  is  existent' 
— that  He  claims  exclusively  the  glory  of  the  Godhead,  because 
He  is  self-existent,  and  therefore  eternal,  and  He  alone  affords  its 
being  to  the  creature.  The  single  existence  and  being  of  God 
includes  in  itself  all  that  we  can  imagine  of  things  that  exist ; 
and  He  possesses,  at  the  same  time,  the  supreme  power  through 
which  He  rules  all.  In  order  that  we  may  rightly  understand 
the  true  God,  it  is  necessary  before  all  things  to  know  that 
everything  in  heaven  and  on  earth  has  its  being  derived  from  Him 
who  alone  exists.  From  His  being  proceed  the  power  and  the 
might.  He  who  upholds  all  by  His  might,  governs  all  according 
to  His  will.  What  wovild  it  have  benefited  Moses  to  speculate 
on  the  hidden  mysterious  being  of  God,  as  contained  in  heaven, 
unless  he  had,  out  of  His  almighty  power,  made  Himself  to  be 
the  shield  of  his  faith?  God  therefore  declares  that  to  Him  be- 
longs the  all-holy  Name,  which  was  profaned  by  being  given  to 
others ;  and  He  magnifies  His  boundless  might,  that  Moses  may 
not  doubt  his  ability  to  overcome  under  His  guidance." — Calvin. 
"  With  these  words  God  exalts  Himself  above  all  creatures  who 
are  not  God,  and  cannot  give  eternal  life,  since  there  is  none 
who  '  worketh  evermore '  but  God  alone.  He  says,  '  I  am  He.' 
That  can  none  else  say,  since  all  else  perishes.  All  our  life  is  a 
passing  uncertain  possession.  I  can  rightly  say,  I  pass  away,  but 
not,  I  am  existent — I  fade  or  change  not.  With  this  claim  does 
God  draw  off  our  hearts  and  eyes  from  all  creatures,  and  fix  them 
on  Himself.  I  only  possess  existence ;  he  who  leans  on  others 
passes  away." — Luther.  We  may  add  the  remark,  that  the  sense 
of  this  name  is  not  exactly  that  of  the  word  with  which  the 
heathen  wise  men  designated  the  Godhead  :  "  that  which  is  " — 
i.e.,  the  existent.  In  Holy  Scripture  the  Godhead  is  the  personal 
Self-existent,  the  only  living  Being,  the  Almighty  Will ;  there- 
fore the  unchangeable,  true,  and  real  God  of  Covenant,  Who  is 
called  by  this  exalted  name.     So  the  gods  of  the  heathen  are 


EXODUS  III.  15-18.  209 

called,  by  way  of  contrast  with  Ilim,  "  Nothings,"  as  the  crea- 
tions of  man  when  he  has  fallen  away  from  his  Creator :  cf.  1 
Cor.  X.  19,  20. 

Ver.  15.  Jacob. — These  latter  words  are  the  farther  explana- 
tion and  definition  of  the  name  of  God.  The  God  of  their  fathers 
is  proved  by  this  new  revelation  to  be  the  Eternal,  Unchangeable 
One,  who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come. 

Ver.  15.  Generations. — In  the  N.  T.  He  is  called  "God  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  in  which  name  is  compre- 
hended, likewise,  that  of  the  God  of  covenant  of  the  O.  T.,  since 
in  Him,  i.e.,  in  Christ,  are  all  the  promises  fulfilled  which  were 
made  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 

Ver.  16.  Visited;  i.e.,  I  have  exercised  a  special  oversight 
with  regard  to  them  :  I  have  interested  Myself  peculiarly  in  their 
state.  The  same  word  is  used  for  visiting,  for  blessing,  and  for 
punishing.  This  visiting  is  the  open  interference  of  the  Divine 
acts  in  the  fate  of  men. 

Ver.  17.  Floioing. — God,  as  the  Possessor  of  the  whole  earth, 
bestows  on  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  the  land  which  was  promised 
to  their  forefathers.  This,  as  is  afterwards  repeatedly  declared, 
rendered  necessary  an  open  invasion — a  war  of  extermination 
on  the  part  of  the  Israelites  against  the  Canaanitish  nations. 
This  war,  by  means  of  which  they  took  the  land  in  possession, 
did  not  rest  on  their  claim  to  the  pasture  lands  once  possessed 
by  their  forefathers,  which  the  Canaanites  might  have  refused 
them,  nor  on  the  offer  of  submission  which  might  have  preceded 
extermination;  but  rather,  the  ground  for  the  destruction  of  these 
Canaanites  is  in  many  places  alleged  to  be  their  utter  moral  de- 
pravity, which  brought  down  God's  wrath  and  punishment  on 
them,  as  once  it  had  done  on  Sodom  ;  and  of  this  punishment 
the  Israelites  were  the  instruments  (cf.  Gen.  xv.  16  ;  Lev. 
xviii.  24-28  ;  Deut.  ix.  4).  Therefore  that  which  Israel  did  to 
them  is  called  a  destruction — a  hallowing  of  God  in  them  through 
their  overthrow.  The  consideration  of  the  extinction  of  this 
people  was  calculated  to  fill  the  Israelites  with  a  holy  dread  of 
God's  righteous  judgments, — and  still  more  ourselves,  when  we 
reflect  that  He  did  not  spare  His  own  people  or  Temple,  when 
'•the  abomination  of  desolation  "  stood  in  the  Holy  Place. 

Ver.  18.  Hearken;  i.e.,  As  soon  as  they  hear  thy  voice,  this 
matter  shall  not  be  left  in  doubt. 


210  EXODUS  III.  19,  22. 

Met. — Heb. :  "Is  called  over  us;"  i.e.,  we  are  called  after  His 
name — are  His  people.  We  owe  Him  service  therefore,  lest  He 
punish  us ;  so  ch.  v.  3. 

Sacrifice. — It  is  perhaps  surprising  to  us,  that,  as  God  pur- 
posed from  the  beginning  to  bring  the  people  of  Israel  out  of 
Egypt,  He  should  have  commissioned  Moses  to  ask  that  which 
was  not  His  real  object.  But  this  request  was  the  smallest  and 
the  most  reasonable  that  could  be  demanded  from  Pharaoh. 
The  Israelites  could  not  serve  their  God  in  the  midst  of  the 
heathen  Egyptians ;  and  so,  in  order  to  remain  God's  people,  they 
needed  the  ])ermission  to  make  a  feast  to  Him  free  from  the  in- 
fluence of  idolatrous  practices.  No  doubt  the  king  had  reason 
for  dread,  lest  the  people  would  thereby  be  roused  to  a  feeling  of 
independence  and  freedom,  and  might  thus  become  dangerous  to 
him.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Israelites  were  not  lawfully  his 
bondmen,  and  owed  him  no  service  which  was  incompatible  with 
this  demand.  By  refusing  this  trifling  petition,  and  thereby  in- 
timating that  he  designed  to  perpetuate  their  servitude  among  a 
heathen  people,  he  justly  fell  under  the  Divine  judgment.  Thus 
we  see  God  fulfil  His  counsel,  that  all  who  fall  under  His  correc- 
tion shall  be  without  excuse.  He  designed  from  the  first  to  lead 
out  the  people  of  Israel,  but  He  would  not  put  any  force  on 
Pharaoh's  will.  His  vnirighteous  tyranny  in  refusing  a  just  de- 
mand must  first  be  brought  to  light,  ere  God  would  show  in  him 
His  might. 

Ver.  19.  Hand;  i.e.,  not  even  after  the  manifestation  of  the 
wonders  of  My  power.  Pharaoh  did,  indeed,  after  the  last  and 
most  terrible  of  the  ten  plagues,  let  the  people  go ;  but  he  im- 
mediately retracted  his  permission.  This  does  not  therefore 
contradict  what  follows,  because  Pharaoh's  resolution  and  de- 
claration are  counter  one  to  the  other. 

Ver.  22.  SjdoH. — This  command  is  not  to  be  explained  by 
supposing,  either  that  God,  as  the  Lord  of  all  things,  can  take 
away,  and  give,  as  He  chooses  to  every  one ;  or,  that  He  can 
suspend  Avhen  He  will  His  own  command,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
steal ;"  or,  that  the  Israelites  looked  on  themselves  as  in  a  state 
of  war,  and  so  might  lawfully  take  booty  ;  or,  that  the  Israelites, 
at  first,  only  borrowed,  and  then,  when  the  Egyptians  followed 
and  attacked  them  in  a  hostile  manner,  retained  as  their  own 
that  which  they  had  borrowed.     All  these  explanations  are  not 


EXODUS  III.  22.  211 

worthy  of  the  character  of  the  Holy  and  Unchangeable  God,  as 
rexealed  to  us  in  Scripture.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  well  to  ob- 
SeiVe,  that  neither  here,  nor  ch.  xi.  2,  ch.  xii.  35,  is  it  said  that 
the  Israelites  had  "  horrowecV  the  vessels ;  nor  ch.  xii.  36,  that 
the  Egyptians  had  "  lent''^  them ;  but  the  former  had  demanded, 
the  latter  had  yielded  to  the  demand :  when  the  transaction  took 
place,  the  journey  out  was  determined  on,  and  even  desired  by 
the  Egyptians,  and  there  was  no  thought  on  either  side  of 
"  giving  back."  Moreover,  this  "  spoiling"  has  not  the  signifi- 
cation of  "  stealing" — secretly  taking  away, — but  that  of  openly 
and  forcibly  taking  possession  of  anything.  The  significance  of 
the  Divine  command,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the  Israelites,  is 
rather  this :  Egypt  and  Pharaoh  had  sinned,  in  manifold  ways, 
by  robbery  and  tyranny  against  Israel — they  deny  the  people 
independence,  and  liberty  to  worship  their  God :  their  God 
takes  the  part  of  His  first-born  son,  and  smites,  after  many  other 
signs,  the  first-born  in  the  whole  of  Egypt.  The  heathen  king 
and  people  are  humbled,  and  lose  courage ;  they  entreat  Israel 
to  be  gone,  and  drive  them  forth ;  and  the  Egyptians  give  them 
all  they  can  in  order  to  appease  them.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  without  violation  of  right,  the  powerless,  oppressed,  poor 
peo]:)lc  spoil  their  tyrants,  and  depart  laden  with  their  treasures. — 
In  this  history  is  typically  represented  to  us  the  condition  of  the 
Church  of  the  Lord  among  the  people  of  the  earth  at  all  times. 
The  people  of  God  are  really  free,  and  called  to  serve  their 
Lord.  For  a  while  the  Lord  allows  them  to  suffer  oppression, 
under  which  they  sigh ;  but  at  last  lie  leads  them  forth  from 
their  ca])tivity,  inflicting  heavy  punishment  on  their  oppressors, 
and  with  the  spoil  taken  from  their  enemies  may  they  now 
glorify  their  Lord.  Hence  the  intellectual  culture  which  the 
Christian  Church  learnt  from  heathen  antiquity  was  rightly 
called  by  the  fathers  of  the  Church,  "  The  spoils  of  Egypt." 


212  EXODUS  IV.  4-10. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Ver.  4.  A  rod. — We  find  on  the  ancient  Egyptian  remains 
tlie  representation  of  a  rod,  crooked  at  the  top,  being  carried  in 
the  hand ;  and  still  the  Arabs  use  such  for  various  purposes.  In 
the  monastery  of  Mt.  Sinai  is  the  wood  of  a  shrub  which  grows 
in  the  wilderness  (Colutea  Haleppica)  sold,  adapted  for  such 
rods,  and  (not  improbably)  regarded  as  the  kind  from  which 
Moses'  wonder-working  rod  was  made. — In  ancient  Egypt  there 
existed  an  art  of  serpent-charming,  which  has  continued  even  to 
the  present  day.  The  person  who  practises  it  restrains  the 
serpents  from  biting ;  nay,  exercises  such  power  over  them,  that 
they  will  stretch  themselves  out,  stiff  and  immoveable  like  a 
stick.  When  this  power  of  working  miracles  is  bestowed  on 
Moses,  he  is  given  to  understand  that  henceforth,  through  God's 
might,  he  shall  be  superior  to  all  enchanters.  At  the  same  time, 
this  miracle,  like  that  of  the  biu'ning  bush,  had  a  deep  signi- 
ficance. "  What  can  be  more  simple  than  a  shepherd's  staff? 
Yet  My  power  can  create  from  thence  that  which  is  an  object 
of  fear  to  all  its  enemies."  Moses  understood  this  from  the 
miracle,  since  he  himself  fled  in  terror  from  the  face  of  the 
serpent.  But  as  the  sei'pent  in  his  hand  became  again  a  rod, 
so  was  he  assured  that  even  the  most  terrific  power,  which 
made  Pharaoh  tremble,  should  be  to  him  a  means  of  help,  not 
of  injury. 

Ver.  7.  Flesh. — The  leprosy,  as  an  incurable  malady  which 
excludes  the  unhappy  sufferer  from  the  society  of  men.  That 
same  Moses,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  Egypt,  and  rejected  by 
his  own  people,  is  destined  to  be  restored  through  God's  power, 
and  to  be  reinstated  in  that  office  to  which  so  early  he  had  felt 
himself  called. 

Ver.  9.  Dry  land. — By  this  sign  would  Moses  show  himself, 
and  the  God  who  sent  him,  to  be  lord  over  Egypt ;  since  the 
Nile  is  the  source  of  all  life  and  fruitfulness  to  the  land,  and 
Avas  regarded  by  the  inhabitants  as  a  deity. 

Ver.  10.  Heretofore. — Literally :  "  Been  eloquent,  neither 
yesterday,  nor  the  day  before,  nor  since,"  etc. ;  i.e.,  my  deficiency 


EXODUS  IV.  11-19.  213 

has  been  since  that  time  no  way  changed.  God  chooses  a  weak 
and  inefficient  instrument,  in  order  thereby  to  glorify  His  own 
power  through  its  weakness:  1  Cor.  i.  27  ;  2  Cor.  xii.  10. 

Ver.  11.  I  the  Lord. — This  expresses  two  things  : — 1.  Have  I 
not  created  thee,  and  know  I  not  what  gifts  thou  hast  ?  and  2. 
Can  I  not  endow  thee  with  all  eloquence  needful  for  thy  mission  % 
The  latter  is  the  primary  meaning  of  this  expression,  as  is  seen 
from  what  follows. 

Ver.  13.  Wilt  send. — "  Every  other  whom  Thou  pleasest." 

Ver.  14.  Levite. — The  designation,  "  Levite,"  here  used,  pre- 
pares the  way  for  the  future  privileges  of  that  tribe. 

Glad, — He  also  received  a  vision  which  made  him  acquainted 
with  the  call  of  Moses,  and  God's  purpose  in  respect  to  Israel. 
The  coincidence  of  these  visions,  and  the  joyful  readiness  of 
Aaron  to  enter  into  Moses'  plans,  were  calculated  to  strengthen 
the  desponding  old  man,  who  felt  so  keenly  his  weakness  and 
deficiencies. — We  clearly  gather  from  this  history,  that  at  first 
it  was  not  God's  purpose  to  give  Moses  the  assistance  of  Aaron 
as  his  spokesman.  This  was  done  only  in  consequence  of  his 
repeated  refusal.  At  the  same  time.  Holy  Scripture  prominently 
sets  forth  the  high  priesthood  of  Aaron  as  a  divinely  appointed 
office.  In  this  respect  the  whole  circumstance  resembles  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  king  in  Israel,  1  Sam.  viii,  7.  Such  a  division  of 
the  office  of  ruler  (Moses  bore  more  the  character  of  king,  Aaron 
that  of  priest  and  prophet)  was  not  in  God's  original  design,  but 
resulted  from  the  weakness  of  faith  and  the  disobedience  of  Moses. 
This  imperfect  economy  typified  the  perfect.  Moses  pointed  to 
Him  who  should  be  the  INIediator  of  a  better  covenant,  Heb. 
viii.  6  :  the  kina^  of  Israel,  who  was  distinct  from  the  hinh 
priest,  to  the  Priest  after  the  order  of  Melchisedek, 

Ver.  16.  Instead  of  God. — As  God  puts  the  words  into  the 
prophet's  mouth,  who  is  nothing  but  God's  instrument,  such 
shall  be  the  relationship  of  Aaron  to  Moses. 

Ver.  18.  Yet  alive. — As  Moses  found  with  so  much  difficulty 
faith  in  the  people  of  Israel,  he  has  less  reason  to  expect  it  from 
his  father-in-law.  The  pretext  he  makes  is,  nevertheless,  not 
false. 

Ver.  19.  Thy  life. — After  the  manner  of  the  scriptural  narrative, 
an  earlier  event,  with  which  the  present  is  connected,  is  repeated 
(just  as  Gen.  ii.  4,  etc.).     No  doubt  the  Lord  had  already  com- 


214  EXODUS  IV.  21. 

municated  this  fact  to  Moses,  that  he  might  not  be  tried  beyond 
his  power.  In  the  long  period  of  his  sojourn  in  Midian,  a  new 
king  has  ascended  the  throne  of  Egypt,  and  the  relation  of 
Moses  to  the  house  of  Pharaoh  had  been  long  since  forgotten. 
We  do  not  find  in  the  later  history  the  least  mention  of  it ;  how 
much  less  of  so  unimportant  an  event  as  the  killing  of  the 
Egyptian ! 

Ver.  21.  Harden. — In  several  places  it  is  declared,  and  the  de- 
claration is  repeated,  that  God  Himself  was  the  author  of  the  har- 
dening of  Pharaoh ;  and  yet  in  many  others  is  the  hardening 
ascribed  to  Pharaoh  himself.     In  order  to  avoid  making  God 
the  author  of  sin,  it  has  been  attempted  to  explain  the  expression, 
by  supposing  that  this  hardening  was  the  result  of  the  miracles 
performed  on  Pharaoh  ;  so  that  it  is  only  said  God  did  these  great 
works,  which,  instead  of  softening  Pharaoh's  heart,  by  his  own 
fault  hardened  it.     Others  have  attributed  the  inward  sinfulness 
entirely,  and  in  its  fullest  sense,  to  Pharaoh,  but  have  ascribed 
the  mode  of  its  external  exhibition  to  God  ;  since,  of  course,  so 
soon  as  sin  passes  out  of  the  will  into  act  and  assumes  any  form, 
God  must  afford  this  form  in  which  it  appears  and  govern  it. 
Thus,   when  David  is  puffed  up  with  pride,  this  pride  in  his 
heart  is  his  own  sin  and  fault ;  but  the  act — that  of  numbering 
the  people — in  which  it  breaks  forth,  is  a  consequence  of  a  tempta- 
tion presented  to  him  from  God.     But  these  explanations  do  not 
reach  the  meaning  of  the  word. — When  God's  power  and  grace 
work  on  a  man  in  vain,  his  heart  becomes  necessarily  harder  and 
harder  than  before  ;  and  this  hardening  is  not  so  much  itself  a 
sin,  as  a  consequence  and  punishment  of  former  sin,  and  there- 
fore an  act  of  God's.     The  Gospel  is  "  the  savour  of  life  unto 
life,  and  of  death  unto  death,"  as  one  and  the  same  savour  is 
to  some  creatures  refreshing,  to  others  poisonous.     But  that  the 
Gospel  is  unto  death,  is  not  a  part  of  its  original  intention,  but 
a  consequence  of  perverse  unbelief ;  but  when  this  takes  place, 
that  it  is  unto  death  comes  as  a  punishment  from  God.    Thus 
the   expression    "  hardening"  presupposes  an    earlier   condition 
when  the  heart  was  susceptible,  but  which  ceased  in  consequence 
of  the  misuse  of  Divine  revelations   and  gifts.     As  Pharaoh 
hardens  himself,  so  God  hardens  him  at  the  same  time  ;  and  the 
prediction  of  this  hardening  would  afford  Moses  and  the  Israelites 
a  great  consolation  in  their  intercourse  with  the  tyrant.     They 


EXODUS  IV.  22-31.  215 

would  have  the  assurance  that  the  outbursts  of  his  rage  -were  all 
under  the  Divine  control,  and  that  the  very  punishment  which 
befell  him  was  ordained  of  God. 

Yer.  22.  First-born. — Of  all  people,  has  God  chosen  this  people 
first  and  especially.  The  expression  conveys  the  notion  of  pe- 
culiar love  towards  the  people. 

Ver.  23.  Thy  jirst-horn. — This  retributive  putting  to  death 
the  first-born,  because  he  had  withheld  from  God  His  first-born, 
would  be  an  emblematic  sign  of  the  full  real  meaning  of  the 
word. 

Ver.  24.  Kill  him. — This  was  in  consequence  of  the  omission 
of  circumcision,  as  the  context  sliows.  Among  the  Arabs,  cir- 
cumcision takes  ])lace  in  the  thirteenth  year,  as  it  does  with  many 
people  who  follow  the  practice.  The  circumcision  of  children 
was  peculiar  to  the  Israelites.  It  is  very  possible  that  the 
^lidianites,  who  were  descended  from  Abraham,  had  not  en- 
tirely abandoned  the  custom,  but  deferred  it  to  a  later  age. 
Moses,  by  living  so  long  among  the  ISIidianites,  had  become 
estranged  from  the  customs  and  ways  of  the  Israelites,  and  had 
adopted  those  of  the  people  among  whom  he  sojourned.  Then 
God  interfered,  and  would  have  revenged  the  contempt  of  His 
holy  ordinance,  on  the  omission  of  which  He  had  enjoined  the 
punishment  to  be,  "  that  they  should  be  destroyed  from  among 
His  people." 

Ver.  25.  Bloody  husband. — So  she  names  Moses,  expressing, 
"  I  must  buy  thee  with  the  blood  of  my  child."  A  sign  how 
the  entrance  into  God's  covenanted  people  could  not  be  without 
pain  for  one  who  was  an  alien. 

Ver.  27.  Mount  of  God. — Iloreb :  ch.  iii.  1.  It  appears,  then, 
that  Moses,  for  some  unknown  reason,  had  taken  the  way  over 
Iloreb  into  Egypt. 

Ver.  '61.  Worshipped. — They  fell  down  upon  their  faces  :  they 
])aid  reverence  to  Moses  as  to  a  prophet  of  God.  Even  men 
(jften  received  the  honour  of  such  marks  of  reverence,  since 
they  were  regarded  as  God's  representatives ;  therefore  especially 
persons  of  high  rank — kings  in  the  O.  T.,  as  also  Divine  mes- 
sengers in  the  N.  But  after  that  God  had  become  man  in 
Christ,  and  so  the  Divine  and  human  natures  were  united  as 
never  before,  and  at  the  same  time  a  more  distinct  line  between 
the  two  drawn,  the  messengers  of  the  Lord  decline  this  honour 


216  EXODUS  V.  1,  2. 

of  kneeling  before  them  :  Acts  x.  25,  26;  Rev.  xix.  10,  cli.  xxii. 
8,  9.  This  first  belief  on  the  part  of  the  people,  which  was 
elicited  by  the  signs  and  wonders  performed,  and  supported  by 
the  yearning  after  freedom  and  the  joyful  sense  of  God's  mercy, 
would  turn  into  a  witness  against  the  people,  when  afterwards 
they  shrunk  back  from  the  will  of  the  Lord,  and  resisted  His 
commands. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ver.  1.  Afterioard. — After  Moses  and  Aaron  had  performed 
their  great  miracles  in  the  sight  of  the  people,  and  thus  attested 
their  mission.  From  ch.  iii.  18,  it  is  probable  that  the  elders  of 
the  people  went  in  with  them  to  Pharaoh.  They  served,  by  the 
outward  dignity  of  their  office,  to  support  the  claims  of  the 
Divine  mission  of  Moses,  which  could  not  be  apparent  to  Pharaoh. 
The  capital  of  Pharaoh  was  either  Memphis,  near  the  modern 
Cairo,  in  which  place  the  Jewish  and  Arabian  traditions  place 
the  scene  of  our  history ;  or,  according  to  Ps.  Ixxviii.  1 2, 
probably  Zoan,  named  by  the  Greeks  Tanis,  situated  at  the 
mouth  of  one  of  the  eastern  branches  of  the  Nile  on  the  Delta  : 
so  it  would  be  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Goshen. 

Wilderness. — Cf.  ch.  iii.  18,  note.  The  demand  appears  to 
contain  nothing  extraordinary  in  it.  A  place  has  lately  been 
discovered  at  Sarabet-el-Khadin,  full  of  Egyptian  buildings  and 
pillars,  with  kings'  names  inscribed  thereon.  This  was  probably 
a  place  of  pilgrimage,  where  the  Egyptians  held  feasts  in  the 
wilderness.  With  some  such  custom  would  Moses'  request  be 
connected  (Lord  Prudhoe,  in  Robinson  i.  128). 

Ver.  2.  117(0  is  the  Lord  ?— Lit. :  "  Who  is  Jehovah  f ' 

Israel  go. — It  is  by  no  means  to  be  inferred  from  this,  that 
Pharaoh  did  not  know  Jehovah,  nor  understand  what  their  wish 
implied.  He  knew  well  that  the  Hebrews  honoured  Him  as 
God.  He  could  as  a  heathen  have  nothing  to  object  against  this  ; 
nay,  he  might  esteem  Him  as  really  a  Superior  Being.  But 
since  the  national  deities  were  regarded  as  the  defenders  of  a 
people,  they  appeared  to  him  only  as  objects  of  contempt,  when 
that  people  was  overcome  and  enslaved  (cf.  Isa.  xxxvi.  18  ;  2 


EXODUS  V.  3-5.  217 

Chron.  xxxli.  13,  14,  19).  These  words,  therefore,  contain  a 
strong  expression  of  heathen  self-reliance,  as  well  as  of  proud, 
overbearing  scorn  towards  a  people  who  were  utterly  subjected. — 
Instead  of  completing  at  one  blow  what  He  had  promised  His 
people  and  threatened  Pharaoh,  the  Lord  commences  with  this 
refusal  of  the  king  a  series  of  trials  for  Israel  and  chastisements 
for  Pharaoh,  by  means  of  which  the  latter  is  humbled,  and  the 
former  exalted.  This  mode  of  proceeding  is  very  significant. 
It  purposes  neither  to  subdue  the  king  by  the  mere  exercise  of 
Divine  power,  nor  to  assist  the  people  without  the  trial  of  their 
faith  in  the  Lord.  The  immediate  consequence  of  the  first 
attempt  to  redeem  them  from  bondage  is,  that  their  condition 
becomes  worse,  and  their  belief  in  the  word  of  promise  is  contra- 
dicted by  the  present  appearance  of  affairs.  But,  especially,  it 
Avas  God's  design  not  to  humble  Pharaoh  merely  as  regards  his 
outward  condition,  without  imparting  an  inward  sense  of  his  sin. 
None  of  the  heathens  and  unbelievers,  who  in  the  course  of  the 
history  of  God's  people  come  in  any  contact  with  them,  could  do 
so  without  some  personal  impression  being  made  on  them  by 
Avhat  they  saw  and  felt.  So  it  was  with  Nebuchadnezzar,  Cyrus, 
Herod,  Pilate.  Especially  in  Pharaoh's  case  ought  the  Divine 
chastisements  to  have  humbled  him,  and  brought  him  to  a  sense 
of  the  sins  for  which  they  were  inflicted. 

Ver.  3.  Met  ivith  us. — As  eh.  iii.  18  ;  i.e.,  we  belong  to  Him  : 
we  owe  Him  sacred  duties,  from  which  no  man  can  set  us  free. 
While  their  words  expressed  their  sense  of  religious  dependence, 
they  declare  their  national  independence. 

Sword. — In  this  address  is  observable  gi*eat  respect  towards 
the  king — perhaps  a  certain  degree  of  dread  of  him.  They  do 
not  say  that  Pharaoh  is  responsible  to  God,  or  that  punishment 
Avill  fall  on  him  for  disobedience. 

Ver.  4.  Burdens. — In  Moses,  Aaron,  and  the  elders,  he  ad- 
dresses the  whole  people. 

Ver.  5.  People  of  the  land. — By  this  term  Pharaoh  denotes 
expressly  that  they  belong  to  the  land,  and  wishes  to  imply  how 
great  injury  they  (Moses  and  Aaron)  inflict  on  the  country. 
Pharaoh  could  not  mean  to  say  that  the  people  were  too  many. 
It  is  an  observation  made  from  very  early  times,  that  the  people 
of  Egypt  would  patiently  endure  any  kind  of  oppression,  but  on 
the  least  relaxation  of  severity  were  ready  to  break  out  into  re- 


218  EXODUS  V.  6-19. 

volt.  These  words  of  Pharaoh,  therefore,  express  a  well-known 
rule  of  statecraft. 

Ver.  6.  Taskmasters. — The  (lit.)  "  drivers''  were  Egyptian 
officers  whom  Pharaoh  had  placed  over  Israel :  the  "  officers" 
were  the  superior  persons  taken  from  among  themselves.  The 
word  "officers"  means,  properly,  "Scribes"  (Heb.  Schoterim). 
The  duty  of  these  latter  was,  we  find,  to  take  care  that  each  one 
dehvered  in  the  proper  number  of  bricks.  In  later  times,  their 
office  was  to  select  the  men  fit  for  the  service  of  war,  and  to 
leave  those  at  home  who  had  built  a  house,  planted  a  vineyard, 
married  a  Avife,  or  who  were  faint-hearted  (Deut.  xx.  5-9).  It 
is,  therefore,  not  improbable  that  they  assisted  the  elders  of  the 
tribes  when  they  had  to  keep  the  genealogical  registers  of  the 
families. — "  I  have  been  present  at  the  cutting  of  a  canal,  in 
which  everything  resembled  this  description.  The  workmen 
came  chiefly  out  of  Upper  Egypt,  with  their  wives  and  children, 
and  were  distributed  in  bands  along  the  canal  which  was  form- 
ing. The  whole  body  was  under  the  direction  of  Turks  and 
Albanians,  who  had  put  overseers  over  the  peasants,  taken  from 
among  themselves ;  and  these  were  responsible  for  the  work  to 
be  done.  These  latter  abused  their  power  even  more  than  the 
former.  Pay  and  maintenance  were  indeed  promised  the  labour- 
ers ;  but  the  first  was  altogether  withheld,  and  the  latter  afforded 
so  sparingly  and  uncertainly,  that  a  fifth  part  died  under  the 
lashes  of  these  drivers." — Laborde. 

Ver.  7.  Make  brick. — The  Egyptians  had  no  burnt  bricks,  but 
baked  the  clay,  mixed  with  chopped  straw,  in  the  sun.  The 
chopped  straw  was  used  to  give  it  adhesiveness.  For  this  pur- 
pose were  they  obliged  to  collect  straw. 

Ver.  11.  Get. — This  is  the  reason  especially  why  this  new 
command  is  made  known  to  you. 

Ver.  12.  Stuhhle.—'^  Small  cut  straw." 

Ver.  14.  Offi,cers. — The  commands  of  the  taskmasters  were 
communicated  to  the  people  through  the  Hebrew  officers,  who 
were  responsible  for  the  correct  delivery  of  the  work. 

Ver.  16.  Fault. — They  represent  to  Pharaoh  how  the  whole 
Egyptian  people  are  hereby  guilty  of  a  sin,  and  liable  to  Divine 
pvniishment;  without,  however,  openly  expressing  thislatter  feeling. 

Ver.  19.  Evil  case. — This  "evil  case"  would  express  their 
hopeless  despair. 


EXODUS  V.  21-23;   VT.  1.  219 

Ver.  21.  Eijes  of  Pharaoh ;  i.e.,  have  stirred  up  his  indigna- 
tion against  us,  and  given  him  a  reason  for  inflicting  punishment 
on  us. 

Ver.  22.  Sent  me. — Moses,  without  hght,  propoimds  his  doubts 
in  the  strongest  manner.  He  had  been  warned  of  the  result — 
that  in  consequence  of  his  mission  it  would  go  worse  with  the 
people,  and  that  they  would  rebel  against  him.  In  such  a  posi- 
tion he  is  left  without  guidance  and  instruction  from  the  Lord, 
and  must  therefore  refresh  his  Mth.  AVith  every  fresh  movement 
of  God's  grace  in  the  inner  life,  fresh  difficulties  and  questions 
are  raised.  If  Ave  will  bring  these  before  the  Lord,  though  it 
should  be  with  the  expression  of  trembling  and  grief,  yet  are 
they  not  to  be  regarded  as  signs  of  unbelief,  but  rather  of  the 
struggles  and  contests  of  faith ;  and  the  Lord  is  patient  towards 
the  doubtino;s  of  human  shortsio-htedness. 

Ver.  23.  Delivered. — Every  extraordinary  act  of  God's  provi- 
dence among  His  people  begins  with  what,  for  the  moment,  ap- 
])ears  its  contrary.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  built  on  the  ruins  of 
earthly  happiness  and  comfort. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

An  important  crisis  of  the  history  has  now  arrived,  for  which 
all  the  preceding  was  preparatory.  The  oppression  of  the  people, 
Moses'  call  and  going  down  into  Egypt,  his  first  announcement 
of  the  Divine  will  to  Pharaoh,  the  refusal  of  the  king,  the  still 
harder  servitude  of  Israel, — all  this  combined  had  extorted  from 
Moses  the  almost  despairing  ciy  of  com]>laint,  ch.  v.  22,  23. 
Now  commences  properly  the  history  of  the  deliverance.  In  a 
solemn  appearance  and  address,  God  renews  the  former  declara- 
tions and  promises.  He  explains  more  fully  the  name  by  which 
it  Avas  His  wish  to  be  known  to  Israel.  Even  this  fresh  and 
solemn  declaration  of  His  gracious  purposes  makes  uo  impression 
on  the  people  under  their  hard  burdens,  and  Moses  repeats  his 
complaints.  Henceforth  begin  the  deeds  of  the  Lord — His  won- 
ders in  Egypt. 

Ver.  1.  Drive. — The  answer  of  the  Lord  shows  from  what 


220  EXODUS  VI.  3-12. 

spirit  the  complaint  of  Moses  had  proceeded.  He  renews  His 
former  promise  yet  more  distinctly  to  His  sorely-tried  servant,  by 
telling  him  that  the  king,  who  now  refused  to  let  them  go,  would 
be  so  humbled  by  God's  almighty  power  as  himself  to  drive  them 
out. 

Ver.  3.  Jehovah — This  is  thus  expressed  in  the  Hebrew :  "  I 
have  appeared  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  as  El-Shaddai, 
^Almighty  God;'  but  according  to  my  name  Jehovah  have  I 
not  been  known  to  them."  He  does  not  say  His  name  Jeho- 
vah was  not  known  to  them,  which  would  contradict  the  earlier 
history ;  but  He  according  to  His  name  Jehovah.  God  calls 
Himself  El-Shaddai  (Almighty  God)  in  the  solemn  revelation 
in  which  Abraham's  name  was  changed,  and  the  covenant  esta- 
blished with  him  by  the  institution  of  circumcision — that  cove- 
nant which  altogether  pointed  towards  the  future.  This  circum- 
stance, known  from  the  history  of  the  patriarchs,  now  serves  as 
a  foundation-stone  for  further  revelations.  The  patriarchs  Avere 
led  to  trust  in  Him  as  the  Almighty  God,  and  to  believe  that  He 
will  become  to  them  Jehovah  (see  ch.  iii.  14,  note).  The  O.  T. 
(and  particularly  the  time  of  the  patriarchs)  was  the  economy 
under  which  God  revealed  Himself  more  by  acts  than  by  the 
unfolding  of  doctrines,  as  the  instruction  conveyed  by  an  act 
left  the  most  abiding  impression  on  the  feelings.  So  long,  then, 
as  the  promise  of  the  covenant  in  reference  to  the  possession  of 
Canaan  remained  unfulfilled,  "  God  was  not  yet  known  to  them 
by  Plis  name  Jehovah."  The  meaning  of  this  name  was  not  yet 
revealed  to  them  in  deeds.  This  it  is  which  now  is  about  to  be 
changed. 

Ver.  4.  Strangers. — At  the  same  time  that  I  revealed  Myself 
to  them  as  the  Almighty,  I  have  thought  on  the  time  when  I 
would  make  ISIyself  known  as  Jehovah. 

Ver.  5.  Remeinbered. — This  period  is  now  arrived  :  the  trouble 
of  the  people  is  the  particular  and  immediate  occasion  of  this  re- 
velation as  Jehovah. 

Ver.  9.  Cruel  bondage. — At  the  first  coming  of  Moses  they 
received  him  with  joy,  and  believed  him  ;  but  as  the  consequences 
of  his  mission  had  only  been  increased  severity,  while  he  was 
commissioned  to  communicate  nothing  actually  new,  they  cooled 
towards  him,  though  they  offered  him  no  opposition. 

Ver.  12.   Uncircumcised  Ujys. — An  image  taken  from  those 


EXODUS  VI.  15-30  :   VII.  1.  22  1 

Avhose  tongue  must  be  cut  before  they  can  speak  plainly.  Such 
a  difficulty  and  impediment  had  Moses  in  his  lips. 

Yer.  15.  Simeon. — These  two  are  only  first  named,  in  order 
to  make  out  Levi  as  the  third  tribe. 

Ver.  16.  Generations. — The  names  of  the  sons  of  Reuben  and 
Simeon  are  recapitulated  from  Gen.  xlvi.  9,  10.  The  present 
o-enealonical  reo;ister  of  the  family  of  Levi  is  a  continuation  of 
that  given,  ver.  11  of  the  same  chap. 

Levi. — By  this  statement  it  is  signified  that  in  the  present 
genealogical  table  the  family  of  Levi  is  especially  meant  to  be 
kept  in  view,  as,  by  a  similar  announcement  of  the  age  of  Kohath 
in  ver.  18,  and  of  Amram  in  ver.  20,  that  their  lines  are  those  to 
be  marked. 

Ver.  24.  Korldtes. — The  family  of  Korali  is  here  again  men- 
tioned, and  his  line  carried  further  on  in  this  place  than  in  the 
others,  in  order  to  prepare  for  the  history  of  his  rebellion,  by 
means  of  which  the  Divine  establishment  of  the  priesthood  was 
solemnly  confirmed  (Num.  xvi.  xvii.). 

Ver.  25.  Phinehas. — Eleasar  and  Phinehas  are  mentioned 
more  particularly  among  the  sons  of  Aaron,  since  the  dignity  of 
the  high  priesthood  was  to  descend  in  this  line  :  Num.  xx.  22-29, 
ch.  XXV.  11-13. 

Ver.  30.  Pharaoh  liearlcen. — All  this  is  added  only  in  order, 
at  this  critical  period  of  the  history,  to  keep  before  the  reader's 
mind  the  importance  of  the  two  principal  actors  in  the  events. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Ver.  1.  A  god  to  Pharaoh. — "  I  have  made  thee  a  god  to 
Pharaoh"  is  not  to  be  understood  merely  figuratively.  [Moses 
in  very  deed  stood  in  God's  place  before  him :  God  had  put  His 
own  word  into  his  mouth — had  intrusted  to  him  His  creative 
power  for  the  work  of  his  mission.  "  Through  my  word,  says 
God,  shalt  thou  be  lord  over  him :  let  him  struggle  and  resist  as 
he  may,  thou  shalt  do  with  him  as  thou  wiliest.  So  it  happens 
to  him  who  has  God's  word  and  is  God's  scui,  AVho  has  power 
over  all ;  since  a  Christian  is  a  man  of  such  power  that  all  crea- 


222  EXODUS  VII.  2-11. 

tures  must  obey  him.  Although  this  does  not  appear,  yet,  in 
truth,  it  is  so.  What  on  earth  is  more  powerful  than  death  ? 
what  more  fearful  than  sin  ?  what  more  bitter  than  a  bad  con- 
science 1  Yet  a  Christian  can  say  that  he  is  lord  over  all  these." 
— Luther.  Cf.  1  Cor.  iii.  21.  For  Aaron  as  a  prophet,  see  ch.  iv. 
16,  note. 

Ver.  2.  Shall  speak. — A  continual  source  of  humiliation  for 
Moses,  and  memento  of  his  weakness  of  faith,  which  was  the 
cause  of  this  division  of  offices. 

Ver.  b.  Am  the  Lord. — "  This  conviction,  which  is  forced  on 
them  against  their  will,  is  different  from  the  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience  of  the  chosen  people.  '  Ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord  when  I  have  brought  you  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.'  This 
is  nothing  but  a  confirmation  of  the  faith  which,  before  the  deeds, 
had  relied  on  the  simple  ivord ;  or  God  chastises  its  weakness 
Avhen  He  sees  that  it  does  not  sufficiently  rely  on  the  word.  The 
ungodly,  therefore,  know  God  in  such  a  manner,  that,  confounded 
by  shame  and  fear,  they  see  not  that  which  they  see." — Calvin. 

Ver.  6.  Commanded  them. — All  unwillingness  to  obey,  arising 
from  unbelief  or  fear  on  their  parts,  had  now  ceased  for  ever. 

Ver.  7.  Old. — In  this  great  turning-point  of  the  history  their 
age  is  mentioned  (as  before,  their  descent),  in  order  to  throw 
light  on  the  narrative.  In  a  similar  way  is  the  age  of  Joseph 
mentioned  (Gen.  xli.  46).  The  longevity  of  the  human  race 
still  continued  down  to  this  time,  though  it  becomes  less  and  less. 
We  are  to  regard  Moses  as  a  grey-headed  man,  in  the  full  pos- 
session of  vigour  and  energy. 

Ver.  9.  jT/iy  i^od. — Moses'  rod  (ch.  iv.)  is  here  called  Aaron's, 
because  he  carried  it,  so  that  he  might  every  time  accompany  the 
act  and  sign  with  words. 

Ver.  10.  Became  a  serpent. — What  the  Egyptian  wise  men 
did  by  means  of  their  enchantments,  Moses  effected  by  the  power 
of  his  word. 

Ver.  11.  Sorcerers. — This  word  properly  means  those  who  re- 
hearse forms  of  incantation.  It  Avonld  be  plainly  contrary  to 
the  word  of  Scripture  to  suppose  that  these  sorcerers  were  merely 
deceivers,  and  their  work  a  juggle.  We  find  among  many  hea- 
then people  a  science  of  incantation  in  the  serAnce  of  the  false 
religion,  in  which  ^nuch,  indeed,  depended  on  the  concealed  use 
of  natural  agents,  much  on  deceit,  but  likewise  much  on  the 


EXODUS  VII.  12-15.  223 

assistance  of  evil  spirits.  From  the  Grecian  oracles  to  the  arts 
of  the  Greenland  Angekok,  no  sound  judgment  can  conclude 
that  tlicse  concurrent  phenomena  are  mere  tricks  or  the  results 
of  natural  skilL  Of  the  Greenland  Angekoks,  some  who  have 
been  converted  to  Christianity  have  declared,  "  JIuch  was  mere 
deceit ;  but  in  much  there  was  present  a  spiritual  influence  which 
they  now  abhorred,  but  could  not  describe." — Cranz.  Hist,  of 
Greenland,  i.  273.  Mention  has  been  made  already  (ch.  iv.  4, 
note)  of  the  art  of  taming  serpents ;  and  even  to  this  day  one 
caste,  which  is  regarded  by  the  people  as  sacred,  cultivate  this 
art,  Avhicli  is  hereditary  among  them.  In  the  practice  of  it,  they 
lash  themselves  up  into  a  state  of  phrensy  ;  and  removed  as  is 
the  present  INIohammedan  creed  from  such  heathen  arts,  still  they 
like  these  things  to  make  their  appearance  in  their  great  reli- 
gious processions.  In  all  this  we  see  the  remains  of  an  art  and 
of  a  class  which  formerly  flourished  on  the  fruitful  ground  of  a 
religion  which  was  at  once  a  service  paid  to  Nature  and  her 
powers,  and  a  homage  rendered  to  evil  spirits. 

Ver.  12.  Sivallowed. — Although  they  imitated  what  Aaron 
did,  their  weakness  and  inferiority  are  plainly  visible.  In  this 
and  the  following  miracles  we  see  that  the  sorcerers  could  imi- 
tate some,  but  not  all.  They  show  their  Aveakness  herein,  that 
they  only  aggravate,  and  do  not  keep  off  the  ruin — more  espe- 
cially, tliat  this  their  power  at  length  fails  them. 

Ver.  13.  Hardened. — Even  the  most  evident  miracle  does  not 
overcome  his  hardness  and  obstinacy  :  it  only  served  to  increase 
his  guilt.  All  miracles  are  given  for  the  help  and  support  of 
weak  faith.  On  the  other  hand,  the  natural  and  usual  course  of 
events  is  of  more  weight  in  the  eyes  of  the  determined  and  proud 
mind  than  the  greatest  miracles,  which  break  in  on  this  order. 

Ver.  15.  To  the  water. — The  Nile  received  divine  honours. 
We  may  suppose,  with  a  great  appearance  of  probability,  that 
the  true  God  made  known  His  power  on  the  Nile  at  that  very 
time  when  Pharaoh  was  about  to  offer  homage  to  his  false  god. 
— We  have  noAv  the  first  of  a  long  list  of  plagues,  after  the  first 
exhibition  of  God's  might  had  triumphed  over  the  magical  power 
of  the  Egyptian  idolatry,  though  it  Avas  Avithout  effect  on  the 
king.  This  fii'st  miracle  left  the  king  and  land  uninjured.  Noav 
begins  a  succession  of  plagues.  All  these  are  natural  pheno- 
mena peculiar  to  Egypt.     The  Avater  there  sometimes  assumes  a 


224  EXODUS  VIT.  17. 

blood-red  hue, — frogs,  lice,  locusts,  etc.,  all  have  in  Egypt,  even 
at  this  day,  something  peculiarly  fearful.  The  significance  of 
these  plagues  consists  in  this — not  that  things  are  brouo-ht  forth 
"which  are  utterly  strange  to  the  nature  and  circumstances  of  the 
country,  but  that  well-known  visitations  occurred  with  unusual 
violence  and  in  rapid  succession — that  they  were  called  forth  and 
ceased  at  Moses'  word — that  the  Egyptian  sorcerers  at  the  outset 
can  only  increase,  not  remove,  the  visitation  ;  and,  finally,  are 
obliged  to  declare  themselves  powerless  and  vanquished.  This 
it  is  which  proves  to  the  Egyptians,  under  these  circumstances, 
the  mighty  saying  of  Jehovah,  "All  the  earth  is  IViine:"  ch. 
xix.  5.  At  length  a  plague  is  inflicted  which  exceeds  all  the 
former  in  its  awfulness,  since  it  leaves  the  ground  of  nature  on 
which  the  others  were  exhibited — this  is  the  slaughter  of  the 
first-born.  The  mnnber  of  the  plagues  is  ten — the  number  of 
completeness — to  signify  the  entire  subjection  of  the  land  under 
its  rightful  Owner.  In  contrast  to  these  ten  plagues,  Israel  re- 
ceives ten  commandments.  They  are  a  type  of  the  tithe  which 
men  give  to  the  king,  Israel  to  God.  The  first  of  the  plagues 
assailed  the  Egyptians  in  a  necessary  of  life.  In  a  country  other- 
wise so  deficient  in  water,  the  Nile  is  the  source  of  all  well-being. 
Its  water  is  drunk,  not  only  as  a  necessary,  but  also  on  account 
of  its  delightful  taste.  It  sometimes  happens,  at  the  rising  of 
the  Nile,  that  the  water  becomes  red  or  green,  by  means  of  some 
mixture  of  (perhaps)  an  earthy  ingredient  with  it.  At  such 
times  it  is  unpleasant  to  drink.  This  plague  was  now  inflicted 
on  Egypt  in  an  unusual  degree,  and  at  a  time  determined  by  the 
word  of  the  Lord  by  the  mouth  of  INIoses.  There  is  something 
very  awful  in  this  punishment  (the  first  miracle  of  Jesus  was  to 
turn  water  into  wine).  Nevertheless,  no  immediate  damage  is 
done  to  the  land  or  its  inhabitants.  The  Lord  gives  time  for 
repentance. 

Ver.  17.  Blood. — It  is  evident  that  we  are  here  not  literally 
to  understand  blood,  but  that  the  water  had  the  appearance  and 
thickness  of  blood.  We  are  to  understand  in  the  same  manner 
the  saying  of  the  prophet,  that,  on  the  day  of  the  Lord,  the 
moon  shall  be  turned  into  blood,  Joel  iii.  4;  Acts  ii.  19.  The 
blood-colour  of  the  water  would  remind  the  Egyptians  of  God's 
vengeance  for  the  innocent  blood  shed  by  them  in  such  abund- 
ance. 


EXODUS  VII.  18-25.  225 

Ver,  18.  Fish. — That  wliich  lives  in  the  water  and  derives 
nourishment  from  it  shall  die.  Here  is  given  a  forewarning  of 
the  judgment  of  death  which  shall  follow. 

Ver.  19.  Streams. — This  plague  reaches  all  the  streams,  etc.; 
i.e.,  the  arms  of  the  Nile,  the  water-ducts  in  the  canals,  the  water 
collected  in  reservoirs,  and  every  single  pool  which  remained 
from  the  inundation.  These  are  all  the  different  waters  which, 
in  Egypt,  are  derived  from  the  Nile. 

Vessels. — By  which  the  Nile  water  was  filtered. 

A II  the  land. — It  is  not  added  here,  as  in  some  of  the  follow- 
ing plagues,  that  Israel  was  spared  participation  in  it.  It  ap- 
pears rather  to  have  reached  the  people  of  God.  It  was  more 
revolting  and  painful  in  its  character  than  actually  dangerous — 
a  sort  of  emblematic  warning ;  and  therefore  the  people  of  God, 
by  fellowship  in  this  plague,  are  reminded  of  the  danger  of  fel- 
lowship with  the  heathens.  At  the  same  time,  Israel  had  the 
comforting  assurance  that  the  plague  was  sent  by  the  God  of 
covenant,  and  was  a  forerunner  of  deliverance. 

Ver.  22.  Magicians. — The  fact  that  the  magicians,  after  the 
general  change  of  the  water,  still  found  some  which  they  could 
turn  into  blood,  is  a  proof  that  "a//  the  water"  is  not  to  be 
understood  literally.  It  is  possible  that,  in  the  land  of  Goshen 
particularly,  there  was  water  unaffected  by  the  plague.  How 
the  magicians  performed  this,  is  difficult  to  explain.  Evidently 
it  was  no  mere  illusion,  but  a  secret  art,  which  is  here  spoken  of. 
But  withal  they  possessed  only  the  power  of  heightening  the 
plague. 

Ver.  24.  Digged. — The  Egyptians  only  drink  well-water  from 
sheer  necessity,  as  the  pleasant  taste  of  the  Nile  water  makes  it 
preferable. 

Ver.  25.  Smitten. — These  words  must  be  connected  with  what 
follows, — "  Seven  days  were  fulfilled  after  that  the  Lord  had 
smitten  the  river,  and  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,"  etc. :  i.e. 
seven  days  after  the  commencement  of  the  first  plague  the  Lord 
commanded  the  second  to  be  brought.  It  is  not  said  whether 
the  first  had  by  this  time  ceased. 


226  EXODUS  VIII.  3-16. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Ver.  3.  Kneading-troughs. — In  this  and  the  followhig  plagues, 
the  great  characteristic  is  the  loathsome  nature  of  the  animals 
which  bring  them  about.  The  pride  of  the  Egyptians,  who  looked 
down  on  the  Israelites  as  unclean  animals,  is  thus  significantly 
rebuked.  This  second  plague  is  more  severe  than  the  first,  though 
as  yet  it  is  rather  annoying  and  troublesome  than  dangerous  or 
destructive.  Pharaoh  finds  it  so,  and  must  humble  himself  to 
entreat  for  its  removal.  A  distinction  would  appear  to  be  made 
between  the  Egyptians  and  Israelites  in  respect  to  this  plague ; 
though  such  is  only  expressly  mentioned  in  those  which  follow. 

Ver.  4.  Servants. — Here,  without  doubt,  we  are  to  supply  to 
the  narrative  that  Pharaoh  (perhaps  silently)  treats  the  warning 
again  with  contempt. 

Ver.  8.  Sacrifice. — The  first  sign  of  Pharaoh's  pride  being 
broken ;  not,  indeed,  of  his  repentance  or  humiliation,  but  yet 
of  a  certain  feeling  of  his  own  helplessness,  in  opposition  to  the 
might  of  God.-  There  might  be  shown,  too,  a  recognition, 
though  a  weak  one,  of  the  Divine  Majesty.  Slight  as  is  such 
homage,  the  Lord  vouchsafes  to  receive  it. 

Ver.  9.  Glory  over  me;  i.e.,  "  It  does  not  indeed  belong  to 
you  to  determine  the  time  ;  but  since  thou  humblest  thyself  be- 
fore God,  thou  canst  again  command  me,  therefore  fix  the  time." 
How  is  God's  might  glorified  in  the  willing  humility  of  His  mes- 
senger, who,  by  allowing  Pharaoh  to  fix  the  time,  puts  at  the 
same  time  before  him  a  proof  of  the  greatness  of  God  ! 

Ver.  15.  Hearkened. — A  heathen,  who  could  form  no  right 
idea  of  an  Almighty  God,  might  not  unnaturally  suppose  that 
this  last  plague  was  the  extreme  exhibition  of  the  power  of  the 
hostile  Being  who  opposed  and  attacked  him.  As  soon,  there- 
fore, as  the  plague  had  been  removed,  he  again  bid  Him  defi- 
ance, and  the  Lord,  in  punishment,  made  his  heart  yet  harder. 

Ver.  16.  Lice. — In  this  plague  the  punishment  proceeds  a 
step  farther.  Instead  of  lice  (Heb.  Kinnim),  it  has  been  sup- 
posed that  the  insect  here  spoken  of  was  a  kind  of  very  small, 
almost  invisible  gnat,  which  at  times,  when  they  swarmed,  be- 
came extremely  troublesome,  nay,  even  most  painful,  by  creep- 


EXODUS  VIIT.  18-27.  227 

ing  into  the  smallest  orifice — the  very  nostrils  and  eyes,  and  not 
allowinf;^  a  moment's  rest  even  in  sleep.  Herodotus  says,  B.  ii. 
95:  "The  following  means  are  nsed  to  keep  off  the  gnats, 
■which  are  very  numerous.  Such  as  dwell  in  the  upper  parts  of 
the  fens  are  protected  by  the  towers,  to  the  top  of  which  they 
ascend  to  sleep,  as  the  gnats  cannot  fly  so  high  on  account  of  the 
winds.  Those  who  live  about  the  morasses  have  each  man  a 
net,  in  which  he  catches  fish  by  day,  and  which  at  night  he  casts 
about  his  bed,  and  then  creeps  in  and  sleeps  under  it.  If  any 
one  were  to  attempt  to  sleep  wrapped  in  his  clothes,  or  in  linen, 
the  gnats  would  bite  through  them,  but  they  do  not  attempt  this 
at  all  with  the  net."  Like  means  are  now  used.  The  sting  of 
the  gnat  leaves  a  feverish  irritation  after  it.  This  plague,  which 
at  all  times  was  a  very  troublesome  one,  became  now  so  mon- 
strous that  all  the  dust  of  the  land  seemed  chanfred  into  miats. 

Ver.  18.  Could  not. — The  power  of  the  Egj^ptian  magicians 
here  ceases.  As  with  the  snake-charmers  a  secret  knowledge 
of  the  powers  of  nature  might  be  combined  with  devilish  arts, 
so  a  similar  conjunction  possibly  acted  in  the  production  of  the 
frogs.  But  neither  human  skill  nor  any  power  in  the  service  of 
the  kingdom  of  darkness  availed  to  call  forth  the  gnats. 

Ver.  19.  Finger  of  God. — In  proportion  as  they  recognised 
the  bounds  of  their  OAvn  science,  did  they  perceive  more  clearly 
that  this  plague  was  a  work  of  the  supreme  power  of  God. 

Ver.  21.  Sioarms  of  flies. — This  plague,  that  of  the  flies  (lit., 
of  the  mixture),  closely  resembles  the  last.  But  here,  to  make 
this  miracle  more  impressive,  the  separation  between  Egypt  and 
Israel  is  distinctly  and  expressly  mentioned.  In  a  small  degree 
this  kind  of  plague  is  very  general  in  Egypt,  and  is  described  by 
travellers  as  intolerably  painful  and  troublesome,  as  the  dog-fly 
settles  in  great  swarms  on  every  exposed  part  of  the  body,  with 
invincible  pertinacity. 

Ver.  22.  Midst  of  the  earth. — The  rightful  Lord  of  Egypt,  who 
dwells  therein,  and  rules  every  province  according  to  JMy  good 
])leasure. — A  direct  contradiction  of  the  heathen  notions  of  the 
Godhead. 

Vei\  27.  Command  us.  —  To  one  una'qraintcd  with  tlie 
fanatical,  superstitious  nature-worship  of  t'e  Egyptians,  this 
might  appear  like  an  evasion  on  the  part  of  Moses.  But  all  the 
victims  of  sacrifice  must  be  most  carefully  chosen,  and  the  least 


228  EXODUS  VIII.  28,  32  ;   IX.  6,  8. 

mistake  therein  might  be  a  crime  deserving  death.  Therefore  a 
carefully  selected  sacrifice  must  have  a  seal  fixed  on  the  horns 
by  the  priests,  before  it  could  be  offered.  But  Israel  had  now 
for  centuries  not  offered  any  public  sacrificial  worsliip.  To 
arrange  such  after  the  directions  of  the  Egyptian  priests,  would 
be  a  concession  to  their  nature-worship.  Nothing,  therefore,  is 
left  for  Israel  but  to  establish  its  own  peculiar  worship,  if  it  is 
to  enter  into  covenant  with  God  as  His  people.  This  mode  of 
worship,  though  outwardly  resembling  often  the  Egyptian,  was 
nevertheless  in  its  nature  and  character  entirely  in  contrast  with 
it :  hence  the  necessity  of  this  journey  into  the  wilderness. 

Ver.  28.  Very  far  away. — Moses  does  not  reject  this  demand. 
The  obligation  under  which  the  Israelites  were  in  respect  to  it 
could  only  be  removed  by  God,  through  means  of  a  series  of 
events  which  His  judgments  brought  about. 

Ver.  32.  People  go. — From  the  same  reason  as  ver.  15. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Ver.  6.  All  the  cattle. — That  this  is  not  to  be  taken  literally 
(the  same  is  the  case  ch.  vii.  20),  is  proved  by  the  plague  of  hail 
which  follows  (ver.  19-21).  It  has  the  meaning  of  "  a  general 
mortality  among  the  cattle,"  or,  "  the  cattle  of  all  kinds  die." — 
The  severity  and  awful  character  of  the  plagues  now  increase. 
Hitherto  they  had  been  painful  and  troublesome — this  fifth 
plague  causes  death  ;  yet  still  forbearance  is  shown,  as  the  death 
is  inflicted  on  the  cattle  only.  The  severance  betwixt  the 
Egyptians  and  Israelites  is  now  more  brought  before  our  view. 

Ver.  8.  Ashes  of  the  furnace. — Perhaps  there  is  a  significance 
in  the  instrument  of  the  miracle  (as  before,  in  respect  to  the 
Avater  of  the  Nile  and  the  dust  of  the  land).  The  j)ride  of  the 
Egyptians  were  their  great  and  magnificent  works  of  art :  these 
were  produced  out  of  the  furnaces  of  their  workshops.  Thus 
the  subject  of  their  exultation  was  made  the  means  of  humbling 
them.  The  "  boil  breaking  forth  with  blains,"  which  is  here 
mentioned,  is  threatened  (Deut.  xxviii.  27),  under  the  name  of 
the  "  botch  of  Egypt,"  as  a  punishment  on  the  Israelites  for  dis- 


J 


EXODUS  IX.  12-16.  229 

obedience.  It  was  a  disease  prevalent  in  the'country";  but  w^e 
cannot  determine  of  what  kind,  owing  to  the  change  of  inhabi- 
tants, and  the  different  mode  of  Kving  in  modern  times.  It  was 
in  any  case  a  great  miracle,  that  at  Moses'  word  such  a  disease 
should  everywhere  break  forth.  And  in  this  plague  his  victory 
over  the  magicians  was  complete,  since  they  likewise  were  in- 
fected with  these  boils. 

Ver.  12.  Lord  hardened. — Here,  for  the  first  time  in  the  nar- 
rative after  the  general  declaration  ch.  iv.  21,  is  it  said,  "The 
Lord  hardened  him."  And  even  in  this  mention  of  the  harden- 
ing, is  it  intimated  that  Pharaoh's  act  ivent  first — God's  act  fol- 
loiced ;  since  the  condition  of  being  hardened  was  preceded  by 
one  of  feeling,  and  of  conscious  resistance  to  this  feeling. 

Ver.  15.  Pestilence. — As  continuation  of  the  plague  of  the 
boils,  and  before  the  destruction  of  the  cattle. — We  may  observe 
a  remarkable  progress  in  the  gradation  of  judicial  punishments, 
in  respect  to  this  next  plague ; — at  the  same  time,  we  gain  an  in- 
sight into  the  position  of  the  Lord  towards  Pharaoh.  After 
six  plagues  have  been  inflicted  without  effect,  Moses  begins  with 
an  awful  threatening  of  a  general  destruction,  and  the  declara- 
tion that  from  henceforth  God  will  be  glorified  by  the  sparing 
and  by  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh.  We  now  anticipate  the  in- 
fliction of  that  last  visitation  threatened  at  the  outset ;  but,  though 
all  is  surely  pointing  to  that  termination,  the  Lord  still  withholds 
the  fulfilment  of  the  last  impending  woe.  There  happens  a 
fearful  hail ;  but  with  this  the  Lord  reveals  mercy  in  the  midst 
of  His  anger.  He  provides  a  means  of  preservation  for  the 
I^^gyptians  themselves  ;  and  ofii^rs  to  Pharaoh  yet  a  further  in- 
ducement than  hitherto  had  been  done  by  the  exemption  of  the 
Israelites  to  escape  the  extreme  penalty,  by  humbling  himself, 
in  the  fear  of  God,  under  His  almighty  hand.  So  did  Jesus 
bear  with  Judas,  and  warn  him  until  the  very  last,  even  after  He 
knew  he  was  a  devil,  and  after  He  had  predicted  his  end. 

Ver.  IG.  Throughout  all  the  earth. — This  place  St  Paul  quotes 
in  the  remarkable  passage  Rom.  ix.  17.  In  the  Hebrew  there 
is  an  antithesis  to  the  preceding :  "  Since  now  I  stretch  out  My 
hand,  and  smite  thee  and  thy  people  with  the  pestilence,  and 
thou  shalt  be  destroyed  from  the  earth  ;  but  for  this  cause  do  I 
place  thee  up,  that  I  may  show  My  might,"  etc. ; — i.e.,  not  only 
"  thou  hast  deserved  it,  and  I  can  so  do,"  but  even  more — "  I 


230  EXODUS  IX.  20-32. 

have  raised  up  My  hand  to  do  it ;  and  that  I  still  spare  thee,  has 
another  object — the  glorifying  of  My  might."  The  raised  up 
hand  of  the  Lord  points  to  the  death  of  the  first-born  and  the 
destruction  of  Pharaoh,  since  this  declaration  is  not  to  be  taken 
literally,  as  though  the  pestilence  would  destroy  all.  God  there- 
fore places  Pharaoh  up  (keeps  him  upright,  under  the  blows 
which  fall  on  him  and  his  people),  in  order  that  He  may  cause 
His  might  to  be  seen.  It  means,  therefore,  taken  with  the  con- 
text, "  Thou  resistest  My  might :  henceforth  canst  thou  see  in 
thyself,  and  show  to  others  in  thee.  My  justice  in  punishing." 
This  is  not  an  accidental  consequence  of  the  conduct  of  Pharaoh, 
but  it  is  contained  in  the  Divine  purpose — it  is  a  fulfilment  of 
a  Divine  judgment. 

Ver.  20.  Feared. — We  perceive  here  the  beginning  of  that 
disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Egyptians,  which  afterwards  was 
more  clearly  slioAvn  in  the  giving  of  the  vessels  on  the  departm^e 
of  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  24.  Fire  mingled;  i.e.,  great  masses  of  fire  fell  down 
amidst  the  hail. 

Ver.  30.  Know. — It  perhaps  surprises  us  that  a  petition  for 
removal,  and  the  granting  of  it,  should  follow  on  a  merely  hypo- 
critical confession,  which  Moses  knew  to  be  but  such.  But  it 
was  not  Pharaoh's  personal  intention  or  change  of  heart  on 
which  the  matter  turned ;  but,  as  king,  he  stood  on  one  side — 
God  on  the  other :  and  his  public  position  before  the  world  was 
the  point  to  be  regarded.  As  he  now  gave  God  the  honour,  and 
humbled  himself  under  His  hand,  immediately  the  removal  of 
the  plague  follows.  So  now  is  a  national  blessing  the  certain 
fruit  of  an  open  confession  of  the  service  due  to  the  true  God,  on 
the  part  of  the  rulers. 

Ver.  32.  Not  groion  up. — Spelt  (a  kind  of  wheat — not  "  lye," 
as  in  our  Version,  since  this  was  a  species  of  corn  not  known  in 
the  ancient  world)  was  the  usual  bread-corn  in  Egypt.  Wheat 
and  spelt  were  the  principal  articles  of  food  :  other  kinds  of 
corn  are  not  met  with  in  ancient  times.  The  remark  inserted  in 
this  verse  agrees  with  what  takes  place  in  Egypt  in  modern 
times.  The  flax  and  the  barley  are  ripe  in  the  sixth  month  after 
sowing  {i.e.  in  March),  the  wlieat  and  the  spelt  in  the  seventh 
(April).  Accordingly,  February  would  be  the  time  when  the 
event  spoken  of  took  place.     How  long  each  plague  continued 


EXODUS  IX.  35  ;    X.  4.  231 

■\ve  are  not  told.  Only  once  is  it  mentioned  liow  long  a  period 
elapsed  before  the  beginning  of  the  next  (ch.  vii.  25).  It  is  not 
improbable  that  a  time  was  allowed  after  each  for  coming  to  a 
better  mind.  A  period  of  some  weeks,  therefore,  might  pass 
before  the  infliction  of  the  last  plague. 

Ver.  35.  By  Moses. — "The  boldness  of  Pharaoh  again  in- 
creases through  the  removal  of  punishment,  as  confidence  always 
])rovides  the  reprobate  with  weapons  against  God.  But  at  the 
conclusion  Moses  represents  his  guilt  as  yet  greater,  by  adding, 
tiiis  had  been  foretold  by  himself.  We  have  several  times  seen 
that  the  ungodly  king  hardened  himself,  '  as  the  Lord  had  said 
to  Moses;'  but  here  it  is  further  mentioned  that  Moses  himself 
had  declared  this  unmoveable  hardness  of  heart  on  the  part  of 
Pharaoh."— Calvin. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Ver.  4.  Locusts. — In  order  to  understand  what  an  advance  in 
the  degree  of  judgments  is  revealed  in  this  plague,  we  must  con- 
sider the  nature  of  the  fearful  visitation  which  is  here  threatened. 
In  the  East  the  locusts  are  not  found,  as  with  us,  singly,  but  in 
vast  countless  swarms.  There  have  been  known  flights  of  them 
which  have  extended  ten  leagues  in  length,  one  and  a  half  in 
breadth,  and  several  feet  in  thickness.  A  yellow  reflection  in 
the  air,  cast  by  their  bright  wings,  is  their  harbinger,  often  a 
(lay  before  their  actual  arrival.  The  air  is  then  misty,  the  light 
of  the  sun  obscured,  so  that  a  person  can  scarcely  see  ten  yards 
before  him,  as  sometimes  happens  in  a  very  thick  snow-storm. 
The  locusts  march  straight  onwards — dam  up  the  canals — fly 
over  the  walls — enter  at  the  Avindows  and  every  crevice,  in  on 
one  side,  out  at  the  other.  They  rush  through  the  open  stores 
in  hosts, — nay, they  can  only  be  kept  from  creeping  into  a  person's 
mouth  by  shutting  it  quite  closely.  They  settle  on  everything 
eatable,  and  fly  olf  with  the  food  in  their  mouths.  In  a  few 
hours  they  have  devoured  every  leaf,  every  ear — have  stripped 
bare  tln^  tender  boughs  and  the  very  twigs — often  gnawed  the 
dry  wood  and  reeds.     Pitfalls,  smoke,  noise,   clullies  hung  on 


232  EXODUS  X.  8-21. 

poles,  arc  the  means  used  for  defence,  but  are  found  quite  in- 
sufficient. They  invade  Egypt  with  the  east  wind  from  the 
Arabian  Desert ;  and  it  is  mostly  the  south  or  Avest  wind  which 
sweeps  them  into  the  sea,  or  the  barren  steppes.  This  is  the 
only  certain  means  for  their  destruction.  Such  was  the  plague 
■which,  known  indeed  to  the  Egyptians  at  all  times,  now  assailed 
the  land  in  a  degree  hitherto  unprecedented. 

Ver.  8.  Shall  go. — In  all  these  communications  with  Pharaoh, 
the  question  is — Whether  the  people  of  Israel  shall  be  regarded 
as  completely  in  vassalage,  or  with  freedom  to  serve  God  in  the 
way  He  shall  choose.  Pharaoh  might  have  ruled  over  them  as 
a  free  people,  serving  their  own  God,  and  with  an  equality  of 
worship  and  of  laws  ;  and  there  is  no  sign  in  the  history  that  the 
Israehtes  would  have  refused  this  submission.  But  these  hmits 
the  people  dare  not  transgress,  or  accept  any  conditions  pre- 
judicial to  the  relations  in  which  they  stood  to  God. 
Ver.  10.  Little  ones. — Bitter  scorn. 

Ver.  11.  Desire;  i.e.,  did  not  require  more  than  this  at  first. 
Ver.  21.  Darkness  lohich  may  he  felt. — Heb.,  "And  it  (the 
people)  may  grope  in  the  darkness;"  lit.,  "may  seize  the  darkness," 
i.e..)  may  make  use  of  the  hands  to  touch  the  surrounding  darkness 
— a  very  frequent  figure  of  speech;  as  Job  xii.  25,  "  They  grope  in 
the  dark  without  light."  It  shall  be  so  dark,  that  persons  in  the 
day-time  must  find  their  way  by  groping.  As  was  the  case  with 
the  other  plagues,  so  in  this  fearful  judgment  (fearful,  not  only 
on  account  of  its  painful  or  injurious  eft'ects,  but  by  reason  of  the 
awful  sense  of  the  Divine  anger  it  would  inspire)  there  was 
some  resemblance  to  the  natural  phenomena  which  from  time  to 
time  happen  in  Egypt.  There  is  the  hot  wind,  called  Chamsin, 
which,  in  its  usual  mode  of  appearing,  has  something  terrific  to 
Europeans  unacquainted  with  the  visitation.  An  oppressive 
heat  precedes  its  arrival ;  the  sun  loses  its  natural  appeai'ance, 
and  assumes  a  dull,  pale-yellowish  hue  like  the  moon.  The  air 
is  obscured  with  clouds  of  dust,  and  at  mid-day  it  is  as  dark  as 
at  night.  A  violent  storm,  accompanied  with  lightning,  damages 
houses  and  tears  up  trees.  There  are  examples  in  history  where 
this  visitation  has  reached  such  a  degree  of  intensity  that  people 
believed  the  last  day  was  come,  and  now  and  then  it  has  con- 
tinued three  days.  This  it  is  which  Moses,  in  the  name  of  God, 
brings  on  the  land  of  Egypt  in  its  most  terrific  form. 


EXODUS  X.  23-29.  233 

Ycr.  23.  Liijiit. — We  can  scarcely  suppose  tins  to  have  been 
the  case  in  respect  to  the  dwellings  of  those  Israelites  who 
lived  among  the  Egyptians,  as  from  the  history,  ch.  xi.  2,  we 
must  conclude  many  of  them  did,  but  only  in  the  land  of  Go- 
shen and  the  districts  exclusively  inhabited  by  the  Israelites. 
This  remark  holds  good  of  the  other  plagues,  ch.  ix.  26.  Those 
who  lived  among  the  Egyptians  needed,  for  their  own  purifica- 
tion, to  participate  in  much  of  the  judgments  inflicted,  since  they 
were,  without  doubt,  the  most  luxurious  and  corrupt  among 
their  people. 

Ver.  20.  Come  tJtither. — An  allusion  to  the  great  feast  of  self- 
dedication  which  the  people  were  to  celebrate  in  the  wilderness, 
whereby  they  became  His  people,  as  God  had  already  said,  ch. 
viii.  12.  What  and  how  they  were  to  sacrifice  there,  must  then 
be  revealed  to  the  people. 

Ver.  28.  Shalt  die. — This  is  the  critical  point  of  the  hardening 
of  Pharaoh,  and  resembles  the  receiving  of  the  sop  in  the  case  of 
Judas,  St  John  xiii.  27.  Hitherto  Moses  had  been  at  hand  to 
entreat  the  Lord  for  help  to  remove  the  plagues  ;  now  is  that 
resource  cut  ofi^. 

Ver.  29.  Spoken  tvell. — "  We  see  how  the  ungodly  king,  car- 
ried away  by  his  rage,  prophesies  against  his  will.  God  repays 
on  Pharaoh's  own  head  what  he  had  threatened  Moses.  But  we 
must  carefully  remember  that  Moses  did  not  speak  on  his  own 
impulse,  but  at  God's  command.  Had  he  not  been  informed 
for  certain  that  this  was  the  last  communication,  he  would  still 
have  been  ready  to  do  his  part." — Calvin. 

Ver.  29.  JVo  more. — It  is  not  said  that  Moses  went  out.  His 
departure  took  place  ch.  xi.  8  ;  therefore  that  which  follows, 
though  it  happened  somewhat  earlier,  is  placed  after  this  to 
explain  the  speech  of  !Moses. 


234  EXODUS  xr.  1-5. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 


Ver.  1.  Said  unto  Moses. — The  thread  of  the  narrative  is  here 
broken^by  the  insertion  of  these  verses ;  as  we  find,  ver.  4,  that 
Moses  is  still  in  the  presence  of  Pharaoh,  fi'oni  which  he  does 
not  depart  until  ver.  8,  and  we  hear  his  last  threat.  A  similar 
transposition  we  find  Gen.  ii.  4,  etc. 

Thrust. — Heb. :  "  Will,  when  he  lets  you  go,  entirely  drive  you 
hence."     He  will  himself  not  wish  to  keep  you  longer. 

Ver.  2.  Borrow. — Not  "  borrow,"  as  has  been  wrongly  trans- 
lated and  explained.  Isi'ael  required  these  things  for  their 
religious  worship  ;  and  they  could  no  more  depart  without  them 
than  without  their  cattle,  as  these  "jewels  of  silver  and  jewels 
of  gold  "  were  to  serve  in  forming  a  sanctuary  for  the  people's 
worship,  and  were  under  their  circumstances  quite  needful. 
For  the  rest,  cf.  ch.  iii.  22,  note. 

Ver.  3.  Sight  of  the  jjcoj^le. — It  was  not  merely  fear,  nor  yet 
simply  the  wish  to  be  rid  of  the  Israelites,  but  a  feeling  of  re- 
verence for  so  highly  favoured  a  man,  which  moved  the  Egyp- 
tians to  bestow  these  presents.  We  read  before  this  how  some 
among  Pharaoh's  servants  feared  the  Lord  (ch.  ix.  20),  and  how 
they  acknowledged  the  might  of  God  (ch.  x.  7),  and  would  have 
prevailed  on  the  king  to  let  the  people  go.  But  the  Israelites 
had  been  still  more  severed  from  the  Egyptians  ;  and  the  feeling 
which  had  once  been  roused  in  Pharaoh — "  the  Lord  is  righteous, 
and  I  and  my  people  are  wicked  " — though  stifled,  was  not  alto- 
gether hjq^ocritical,  and  must  have  gained  more  and  more  in- 
fluence over  the  mass  of  the  nation.  Thus  it  was  not  merely 
fear  which  prevailed  on  the  Egyptians,  but  the  feeling  that  the 
Israelites  were  God's  chosen  people.  They  made  a  kind  of  offer- 
ing to  a  priestly  race,  which  was  to  act  as  an  atonement,  and  to 
turn  God's  anger  from  them. 

Ver.  4.  Said ;  i.e.,  to  Pharaoh. 

Ver.  5.  First-born. — Now  is  threatened  the  greatest  and 
most  awful  of  the  plagues.  The  first  came  out  of  the  river,  the 
benefactor  of  the  land;  the  third  and  fourth  from  the  earth; 
the  rest  from  the  air.  All  stood  in  close  connection  to  the 
idolatrous   land,   whose  Lord  the   God  of  Israel   would   show 


EXODUS  XI.  8.  235 

Himself  to  be.  But  now  He  smites  them  with  another  plague, 
not  only  far  exceeding  all  the  rest,  but  also  coming  so  directly 
from  God's  hand,  that  none  of  the  natural  phenomena  peculiar  to 
Egypt  could  offer  any  resemblance  to  it.  Now  the  Lord  goes 
out  about  midnight  in  the  midst  of  Egypt,  and  death  ensues  in 
the  houses — death,  not  of  an  usual  kind,  hs  in  the  case  of  a 
pestilence,  but  the  death  of  the  first-born,  because  the  king 
had  Avithheld  from  God  His  first-born  son.  This  plague 
and  deliverance — comprehending  all  the  others — is  a  pei'petual 
memorial  to  Israel  of  his  election,  sealed  for  him  in  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Passover,  and  dedication  of  the  first-born  to  the 
Lord. 

Upon  his  throne. — As  the  next  to  him,  as  it  were  his  co-regent. 
Cf.  llev.  iii.  21. 

Mill. — The  service  at  the  hand-mills  was  esteemed  the  hardest, 
and  performed  by  the  very  lowest  class  of  female  slaves. 

Beasts. — This  ought  to  have  been  a  corroborating  testimony 
to  the  miracle,  that  the  plague  came  from  God.  The  first-born, 
as  "the  beginning  of  strength"  (Gen.  xlix.  3),  has  from  earliest 
times  been  reckoned  the  most  excellent.  Among  the  patriarchs, 
and  even  now  among  the  Israelites,  and  probably  among  the 
Egyptians,  the  first-born  had  particular  privileges  ;  hence  in 
every  family  the  grief  was  more  bitter  for  the  loss  of  one  so 
highly  prized. 

Ver.  8.  Follow  thee;  lit.,  "that  is  at  thy  feet."  Moses,  on 
account  of  his  miracles  wrought,  was  esteemed  the  king  of 
Israel. 

Go  out. — To  complete  the  humiliation  of  Pharaoh,  Moses 
threatens  that  he  will  by  no  means,  as  heretofore,  beg  for  per- 
mission to  go  out ;  but  the  king  himself  will,  by  his  servants, 
entreat  him  to  do  so  as  a  creat  favour. 

Great  anger. — •'  We  see  from  this,  that  the  servants  of  God, 
even  when  they  execute  their  office  faithfully  and  truly,  are  so 
impressed  with  the  gi'catness  of  the  sins,  that  they  are  by  no 
means  free  from  the  feeling  of  anger.  It  is  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  here  inflames  the  heart  of  Moses  with  holy  zeal,  and  pre- 
serves it  from  all  mixture  of  unholy  passion.  Much  reason  have 
we,  when  moved  by  righteous  indignation,  to  ])ray  for  the  spirit 
of  forbearance  and  singleness  of  mind,  to  preserve  us  from  ex- 
cess.    Yet  we  see  from  Moses'  anger,  that  God  does  not  desire 


236  EXODUS  XI.  10;  xii.  i. 

that  we  should  be  cold  and  indifferent  in  the  execution  of  His 
commands." — Calvin. 

Ver.  10.  Land. — This  is  the  conclusion  of  the  entire  history 
from  ch.  vii. — a  summing  up  of  the  whole ;  as  in  like  manner, 
ch.  vi.  26. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Ver.  1.  In  the  land  of  Egypt. — The  course  of  the  history  is 
here  interrupted,  as  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  ch.  xi.  Moses, 
when  he  wrote  in  the  wilderness  the  account  of  what  happened 
on  that  memorable  night,  inserted  into  the  narrative  the  revela- 
tion on  the  subject  of  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  which  he  had 
previously  received,  though  he  had  only  partially  made  it  known 
to  the  elders.  He  did  so,  in  order  to  show  that  this  feast  was 
no  accidental  institution  or  after-thought,  but  that  all  rested  on 
the  Divine  appointment,  and  had  a  deep  significance.  A  fearful 
judgment  is  announced  against  the  Egyptians :  according  to 
strict  justice,  the  same  must  be  accomplished  on  Israel ;  but  the 
mercy  of  the  Lord  will  spare  His  people,  and  through  this  very 
mercy  and  grace  are  they  to  become  His  people. — A  new  era  now 
commences.  Henceforth  they  shall  begin  their  year  with  the 
month  on  which  they  were  delivered  :  at  its  full  moon,  on  the 
day  in  which  they  went  out  of  Egypt,  shall  they  repeat  in  com- 
memoration the  events  in  Egypt.  All  which  is  here  appointed  has 
reference,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  circumstances  of  that  Exodus. 
The  lamb  was  to  be  roasted,  not  boiled :  they  were  to  eat  it  with 
loins  girded,  shoes  on  their  feet,  and  staff  in  hand,  as  travellers 
in  haste.  The  bitter  herbs  were  to  remind  them  of  the  time  of 
misery  in  Egypt — the  unleavened  bread,  of  the  impossibility  of 
leavening  their  dough  in  their  hurry  to  be  gone.  But  this 
significance  was  not  all.  All  the  customs  of  this  feast,  restino; 
as  they  did  on  Divine  institution,  had  a  higher  meaning, — espe- 
cially the  lamb  itself  which  was  sacrificed.  The  paschal  sacrifice 
had,  in  every  point  of  view,  a  particular  signification.  It  was  an 
especial  sacrifice  of  atonement  which  was  here  ordained,  since  it 
w^as  the  blood  of  the  lamb  alone  which  on  the  door-posts  averted 
the  destruction  from  the  people.     "  The  Lord  saw  the  blood  and 


EXODUS  XII.  1.  237 

passed  by."     The  blood  of  the  lamb   was  in   the   stead  of  the 
blood  of  the  Israelites,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  shed. 
But  to  this  meaning  of  the  Passover  as  a  sacrifice  of  atonement, 
there  was  another  in  addition.     The  lamb  slain  in  sacrifice  was 
afterwards  eaten  in  common  :  so  tliis  repast  has  the  character 
of  a  sacrificial  meal ;  i.e.,  the  whole  blessing  which  the  sacrifice 
accorded  to  the  people,  was  thereby  individually   appropi'iated 
by  those  who  partook  of  it,  which  otherwise  was  the  case  only 
with  the  thank  or  peace-offerings,  never  with  the  atonement  or 
sin-offerino-s.     This  was  therefore  at  once  an  atonement  and  a 
thank-offering.     As  food  of  a  significant  and  peculiar  kind,  it 
was  not  to  be  mixed  with  other  sorts  ;  therefore,   to  be  eaten 
roasted,  not  boiled,  and  whole.    No  bone  was  to  be  broken,  that 
each  person  might  have  the  emblem  perfect  before  him.    Nothing 
was  to  remain,  lest  it  should  be  used  for  unhallowed  (;i.e.,  non- 
religious)  purposes,  or  be  the  cause  of  any  superstition.     It  was 
to  be  eaten  by  a  family  as  a  whole,  that  the  people  might  every- 
where be  reminded  that  they  formed  one  body,  and  that  every 
one,  as  member  of  that  one  body,  became  participator  in  the 
benefits  which  were  obtained  and  conuiiemorated  by  this  offer- 
ing.    Leaven,  as  the  cause  of  fermentation,  solution,  corruption, 
was  regarded  as   an   emblem  of  impurity  ;   and  therefore  un- 
leavened bread,  as  a  type  of  what  God's  redeemed  people  ought 
to  be,  was  to  be  eaten  seven  days.    To  be  cut  off  from  the  people 
was  the  penalty  of  eating  leavened  bread.     The  whole  feast  had 
thus  the  name  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  ;  and  all  leaven 
was  with  the  most  scrupulous  care  removed  from  tlieir  houses 
during  the  days  of  the  feast.     But  the  most  pccidiar  mark  alto- 
gether in  this  great  act  of  sacrifice  was  this, — that  the  very  least 
and  most  obscure  Israelite  was  therein  called  to   the  priestly 
office.     The  whole  people  was  to  be  thereby  re])resented  as  a 
"priestly  kingdom,    a    holy  people:"    cf.  Lev.  ix.  1.     A  later 
tradition  maintained,  that  the  marking  the  door-posts  with  blood 
only  took  place  the  first  time  in  Egypt,  but  never  afterwards ; 
but  this  is  plainly  contrary  to  the  words  of  Institution  (vers.  24, 
25).      As  a  feast  of  redemption,  and  of  thaid<sgiving  for  freedom 
at  the  same  time,  the  sacrifice  of  the  paschal  lamb  was  to  be 
continually  offered  :  and  since  so  many  circumstances  connected 
with  it  were  a  perpetual  memento  of  the  trouble  of  the  jicople  in 
Egypt,  and  their  release  therefrom  by  the  plague,  this  feast  was 


238  EXODUS  XII.  2-6. 

intended  to  be  a  perpetual  exhortation  to  tlicm  at  all  times,  to 
teach  them  that  they  owed  their  preservation  and  continuance 
to  the  all-powerful  mercy  of  God,  which  alone  had  saved  them  ; 
and  that  their  thanksgiving  could  only  worthily  be  offered  to 
God  by  means  of  that  honest  sincerity  which  became  His  people. 
Plow  in  all  this  we  are  to  see  a  type  of  the  one  eternal,  all-sufficient 
sacrifice  of  Jesus  Clirist,  and  how  all  the  particidars  have  a  deep 
spiritual  meaning  (though  we  must  be  careful  not  to  regard 
them  merely  as  types,  and  so  explain  away  their  historical  sense), 
the  thoughtful  reader  of  the  N.  T.,  from  comparison  of  the 
institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  from  1  Cor.  v.  6,  etc.,  and 
1  Cor.  X.  10-21,  can  easily  perceive. 

Ver.  2.  Month. — Before  this  a  different  mode  of  reckoning 
time  was  practised  among  them.  We  are  to  understand  here, 
and  afterwards  where  mention  is  made  of  months,  the  lunar 
months,  which  begin  with  the  new  moon,  and  on  the  14th  or 
15th  day  of  which  the  full  moon  takes  place  :  therefore  the 
Passover  was  celebrated  at  the  full  moon.  By  means  of  inter- 
calation, the  Israelites  made  the  lunar  to  assimilate  with  the 
solar  year ;  so  that  the  harvest  could  always  begin  with  the 
paschal  festival. 

Yer,  3.  Tenth  day. — This  command  only  held  good  in  Egypt, 
where,  in  consequence  of  the  impending  judgment,  and  the  haste 
of  their  departure,  no  time  would  have  remained  afterwards  for 
the  selection. 

A  lamb  for  a  Jiouse ;  lit.,  "  a  lamb  for  the  house  of  your 
fathers." 

Yer.  5.  Witltout  blemish. — Whereby  it  was  marked  out  as  a 
sacrifice,  in  which  such  care  was  always  observed. 

First  year. — The  Jewish  tradition  understands  this  of  a  lamb 
which  had  not  exceeded  the  first  year ;  but  this  is  against  the 
usage  of  the  words. 

Goats. — i.e.,  As  a  rule,  from  the  lambs,  but  even  from  the 
goats. 

Yer.  6.  Evening. — Between  the  two  evenings.  In  Hebrew 
it  is  said,  "  the  two  lights"  for  mid-day — "  the  two  dawns,"  the 
two  evenings ;  because  the  particular  points  of  mid-day,  of  sun- 
rising  and  setting,  which  are  by  us  indiscriminately  called  morn- 
ing, mid-day,  evening,  are  divided  into  two  halves  [i.e.,  the 
time  when  the  sun  sinks  below  the  earth,  leaving  twilioht,  and 


EXODUS  XII.  7-11.  239 

its  final  setting  out  of  sight].  Here  sunsetting  is  appointed  as 
tlie  particular  time  for  killing  the  Iamb ;  but,  as  in  after  times 
this  must  be  done  for  all  Israel  before  the  sanctuary,  custom  kept 
to  three  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  as  the  time  for  the  killing  the 
lamb. 

Ver.  7.  Upper  post. — The  destroying  angel  came  from  above  ; 
therefore  the  upper  posts  must  be  marked  with  blood. 

Ver.  8.  Roast. — Because  roast  meat  can  be  most  c[uickly  pre- 
pared ;  likewise,  because  it  can  for  the  most  part  be  eaten  with- 
out any  accessories. 

Unleavened  hread. — Such  bread  was  called  "  Matza ;"  i.e., 
pure.     They  were  thin,  smooth,  round  cakes. 

Bitter  herbs. — Hob, :  "  with  bitter ;"  it  being  left  undeter- 
mined what  this  bitter  is  :  without  doubt  is  meant  bitter  herbs — 
it  is  supposed,  wild  lettuce.  The  unleavened  bread  and  bitter 
lettuce  reminded  them  of  the  suffering  in  Egypt,  the  trouble 
and  pain  of  their  departure  ;  whilst  other  thoughts  out  of  the 
deejier  meaning  of  the  feast  would  be  added  to  these. 

Ver.  9.  Sodden. — The  two  extremes  were  to  be  avoided  : 
neither  too  much  time  given  to  the  preparation,  nor  too  great  haste 
shown  so  as  to  render  the  meal  unsavoury  and  without  due  order. 
Legs. — It  should  represent  completeness.  Every  family  or 
neighbourhood  which  partook  of  it,  represented  in  miniature  the 
whole  people ;  and  before  this  union  of  families  the  lamb  was  to 
be  placed  entire,  in  order  that  thus  the  meaning  of  the  whole 
feast  might  be  realised. 

Ver.  11.  Girded. — The  long  flowing  Eastern  garments,  which 
in  the  house  were  loose,  being  girded  up,  as  when  a  journey 
was  about  to  be  undertaken. 

Feet. — In  the  house,  the  Orientals  go  barefoot :  before  a  meal 
they  wash  the  feet ;  when  they  go  out  or  travel,  they  bind  on 
sandals. 

Passover. — The  word  in  the  Hebrew  is  "  Pesach,"  from 
whence  afterwards  in  the  Aramaic  (the  Syro-Chaldaic)  was 
formed  "  Pascha."  "  Pasach "  signifies,  properly,  "  springing 
over," — a  most  significant  word  for  the  act  of  passing  over  and 
sparing  His  people,  which  the  Lord  did  for  Israel.  The  same 
word  occurs,  Isa.  xxxi.  5,  for  the  gracious  passing  over  of  the 
people  of  Israel  in  the  judgments  which  are  inflicted  on  other 
people.     The  name  is  explained  in  what  follows. 


240  EXODUS  XII.  12-14. 

Ver.  12.  Gods  of  Egypt. — This  is,  of  course,  not  to  be  taken 
literally,  as  though  the  gods  of  Egypt,  or  generally  the  heathen 
gods,  were  real  beings,  powers  of  the  spiritual  world,  which 
Jehovah  then  judged.  The  scriptural  names  of  the  heathen 
deities — "  Elilim,"  nothings,  Lev.  xix.  4  ;  Ps.  xcvi.  5  ;  "  Jetzer," 
something  made,  and  other  terms,  in  contrast  with  the  "  living 
God" — show  most  clearly  that  they  are  treated  in  Holy  Scripture 
as  human  inventions  without  any  reality.  The  Word  of  God 
does  not  afford  any  support  to  the  notion  of  the  fathers  of  the 
Church,  that  certain  evil  spirits  had  the  power  to  reveal  them- 
selves as  false  deities  to  certain  nations,  and  to  establish  for 
themselves  a  worship  among  them.  This  expression  is  here  to 
be  understood  figuratively,  just  as  when  elsewhere,  Isa.  xix.  1,  it 
is  said,  "  The  idols — the  nothings — of  Egypt  shall  be  moved  ;"  or 
Jer.  xlviii.  7,  "  Chemosh  shall  go  forth  into  captivity  with  his 
priests  and  princes  together  ;"  or  as  the  emblematic  miracle  on 
the  idol  of  Dagon,  1  Sara.  v.  3,  4.  The  "  gods  of  Egypt"  are 
the  power  of  error — which  is,  of  course,  something  more  than 
human — without,  however,  the  different  gods  being  evil  spirits  : 
cf.  1  Cor.  X.  19,  20.  This  explanation  seems  preferable  to  the 
other,  which  supposes  that  here  the  judgments  are  said  to  be 
upon  the  Egyptian  gods,  because  that  people  worshipped  ani- 
mals, and  the  firstborn  of  many  of  these  sacred  animals  died. 
Still  this  circumstance  is  of  importance  for  the  understanding  of 
the  impression  made  by  the  plague,  and  particularly  the  men- 
tion of  "  beast,"  in  ver.  12. 

Ver.  13.  See  the  Hood. — A  similar  mode  of  expression  with 
that  concerning  the  rainbow,  Gen.  ix.  1 6.  Although  the  Lord 
"  knoweth  His  own,"  and  so  far  requires  no  sign,  yet  still  by  this 
strong  human  mode  of  expression  is  the  great  truth  represented 
that  the  sign  was  essential,  and  had  a  power  and  meaning  in  it, 
and  that  the  atonement  which  the  sacrifice  effected  was  a  need- 
ful one.  The  blood,  therefore,  is  by  no  means  merely  for  a  con- 
firmation of  the  faith  of  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  14.  Ordinance  for  ever. — This  expression  is  afterwards 
repeated  in  many  of  the  commandments  of  the  ritual  law;  e.g., 
ch.  xxvii.  21,  ch.  xxviii.  43,  ch.  xxx.  31  ;  as  also  it  is  used, 
Gen.  xiii.  15,  of  Canaan,  and  Gen.  xvii.  13,  of  circumcision. 
"  Eternal"  is  often  said  in  Scripture  of  an  indefinite  time — not 
for  a  certain  period.     Thus  the  servant  who  will  not  be  free 


EXODUS  XII.  15-27.  241 

remains  a  servant  "  for  ever :"  Deut.  xv.  17.  Yet  with  respect  to 
the  law,  we  must  consider  that  it  has  never  been  abrogated  :  St 
Matt.  V.  17. 

Ver.  15.  Cut  off. — For  explanation  of  this  punishment,  see 
Gen.  xvii.  14,  note. 

Ver.  16.  Convocation. — The  people  was  called  on  these  days 
with  the  sound  of  trumpets  into  the  fore-court  of  the  tabernacle  : 
Num.  X.  2-10.  There  solemn  prayers  and  hymns  and  different 
sacrifices  took  place,  and  afterwards  the  sacrificial  feasts.  On  the 
intermediate  days  there  were  likewise  sacrifices  and  repasts,  but 
they  served  also  for  work  and  business. 

Ver.  19.  Born  in  the  land. — The  "  born  in  the  land"  are  the 
descendants  of  Abraham  ;  the  "  strangers,"  those  proselytes  from 
other  people  who  were  formally  received  into  the  people  of  Israel 
by  circumcision,  since  one  uncircumcised  might  not  (accord- 
ing to  ver.  43,  etc.)  eat  with  them.  The  same  punishment,  there- 
fore, is  to  be  inflicted  on  all. 

Ver.  21.  Called. — Moses  tells  the  elders  only  what  was  imme- 
diately necessary :  nothing  of  the  observances  which  belong  to 
the  particular  circumstances  of  the  Exodus. 

Ver.  22.  Dip. — Hyssop  (Ileb.,  Esob ;  Greek,  Hyssopvis)  is 
an  aromatic  plant,  of  a  straight,  strong  stalk  about  a  foot  high, 
with  woolly  leaves  ;  grows  frequently  in  stony  ground,  on  ruins 
or  old  walls.  It  was  often  used  in  religious  sprinklings  or  puri- 
fications ;  e.g.,  in  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  the  red  heifer.  Num. 
xix.  6 — of  the  water  for  the  purifying  of  the  lepers.  Lev.  xiv.  4. 
The  small  woolly  leaves  of  the  plant,  gathered  into  a  bundle, 
made  it  particularly  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  sprinkling. 

Ver.  23.  Smite. — In  the  Heb.  the  word  stands  which  particu- 
larly denotes  the  infliction  of  a  Divine  judgment. 

Ver.  27.  Shall  say. — On  this  is  founded  the  beautiful  custom, 
which  has  always  prevailed  among  the  Israelites  in  later  times, 
at  least  since  the  dispersion,  that  the  son  of  the  house,  at  an 
appointed  time  in  the  Paschal  Supper,  shall  ask  the  father  of  the 
family,  "  What  meaneth  all  this  ?"  and  the  father  answers  :  "  We 
eat  this  Passover,  because  the  Lord  passed  over  the  houses  of 
our  fathers  in  Egypt.  We  eat  these  bitter  herbs,  because  the 
Egyptians  made  the  lives  of  our  fathers  bitter  in  Egypt.  We 
eat  this  unleavened  bread,  because  our  fathers  had  not  time 
enough  to  leaven  their  dough  before  the  Lord  appeared  and  re- 

Q 


242  EXODUS  XII.  32-44. 

deemed  them.  Therefore  shall  we  confess,  laud,  praise,  and  mag- 
nify Him  who  hath  shown  mito  us  and  our  fathers  so  great 
wonders,  and  hath  brought  us  from  bondage  into  freedom,  from 
sorrow  into  joy,  from  darkness  into  great  light."  This  is  called 
the  "  Haggada,"  the  declaration — explanation. 

Ver.  32.  Have  said.— CI  ch.  x.  24,  25. 

Ver.  35.  Did.— On  this  night. 

Ver.  36.  Lent. — Heb.,  "  gave,"  made  presents.  How  incor- 
rect is  the  translation  "  lent "  is  shown  from  this,  that  this 
word  occurs  only  once  again,  in  the  vow  of  Hannah  ;  and  there 
the  words  properly  mean,  "  And  him  I  give  to  the  Lord  all  his 
life  long,  since  he  has  been  begged  from  the  Lord,"  1  Sam. 
i.  28,  where  a  "  lending"  is  out  of  the  question. — Spoiled.  Cf. 
ch.  iii.  21,  note. 

Ver.  37.  Succoth. — Eameses  was  the  principal  town  of  the 
land  of  Goshen,  which  was  also  called  the  land  of  Rameses,  Gen. 
xlvii.  IL  It  was  afterwards  called  by  the  Greeks  Heroonpolis. 
Succoth  means  "  tabernacles,"  a  name  which  belonged  to  many 
places,  because  in  former  times  tents  had  been  pitched  there.  Its 
locality  is  not  now  clearly  to  be  ascertained. 

Ver.  37.  Besides  children. — According  to  usual  computation, 
this  would  make  up  the  whole  number  of  the  people  to  be  about 
two  millions. 

Ver.  38.  Mixed  multitude, — There  is  nothing  contemptuous 
intended  in  this  word  "  mixture."  We  may  reckon  among  these 
such  of  the  Egyptians  as  had  been  impressed  by  the  succession 
of  miracles  of  the  Lord.  This  multitude  of  strangers  was  to 
be  incorporated  among  the  people. 

Ver.  40.    Years.— Gqw.  xv.  13. 

Ver.  42.  Night. — Literally,  "  A  night  of  observances  is  this  to 
the  Lord,  that  He  has  brought  them  out  of  Egypt :  this  is  the 
night  of  the  Lord,  observances  for  all  the  children  of  Israel  for  their 
posterity."  By  the  express  repetition  of  the  words  is  the  great 
importance  of  the  festival  of  this  night  prominently  set  forth. 

Ver.  44.  Eat  thereof. — No  one  might  eat  of  the  feast  of  cove- 
nant of  the  congregation,  who  had  not  entered  into  covenant 
with  God  by  circumcision.  Yet  even  here  is  the  idea  very  ob- 
servable, which  is  an  essential  part  of  the  later  laws,  viz.,  that 
the  servants,  the  slaves,  are  in  covenant  with  God;  and  there- 
fore, notwithstanding  all  difference  of  position  and  relation,  were 


EXODUS  XII.  45,  46 ;   XIII.  2.  243 

in  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  the  covenant,  and  spirituallv 
equal  with  the  rest. 

Ver.  45.  Foreigner. — A  settler,  a  stranger  who  has  settled 
down  for  a  long  time  in  one  place,  without  obtaining  the  rights 
of  citizenship. 

Ver.  46.  Boy\e  thereof. — The  house  shall  represent  one  congre- 
gation, the  congregation  of  the  people.  For  this  the  Passover 
shall  be  entire,  and  not  distributed  piece  by  piece  to  this  and 
that  company.  This  idea  of  unity  is  also  the  reason  why  no 
bone  in  the  lamb  was  to  be  broken  :  cf.  St  John  xix.  36.  The 
Christian  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  founded  on  the  typi- 
cal Paschal  Supper,  is  to  correspond  to  the  Passover  in  all  these 
particulars  set  forth  in  this  passage.  If  we  consider  that  in  the 
N.  T.  the  circumcision  of  the  heart,  and  not  outward  baptism, 
corresponds  to  the  rite  of  circumcision,  so  the  discipline  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  its  application  to  the  sacrificial  meal  of 
the  new  covenant,  is  rightly  founded  on  these  precepts.  Althouoh 
from  this  place  we  cannot  conclude  that  every  private  commu- 
nion is  irregular  (since  the  ancient  Church,  by  its  practice  of 
distributing  the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  sick,  maintained  the  no- 
tion that  the  bread,  first  consecrated  and  partaken  of  in  the 
church,  was  carried  out  of  the  church  to  the  sick,  and  they  be- 
came partakers  of  one  bread),  yet  certainly  it  is  to  be  recom- 
mended that  at  every  private  communion,  either  by  the  drawino- 
together  other  persons  who  were  absent,  or  b}'-  the  connectino- 
the  private  communion  with  that  in  church,  the  Divine  intention 
of  the  union  of  His  people  at  this  holy  sacrificial  feast  should  be 
fulfilled  as  far  as  possible. 


CHAPTER   Xni. 

Ver.  2.  Sanctify ;  i.e.,  declare  by  thy  word  Israel  to  be  holy  : 
just  as,  according  to  Lev.  xiii.  3,  the  priest,  in  respect  to  the 
leper,  was  "  to  make  him  unclean"  (so  the  Hebrew).  Here  is  at 
the  same  time  an  allusion  to  the  creative  power  of  the  Divine 
word. 

First-born. — In  the  First  Book  of  Moses,  we  sec  throughout  a 


244  EXODUS  XIII.  3. 

prominence  given  to  the  right  of  the  first-born,  who  received  a 
double  inheritance  and  authority  over  the  family.  The  reason 
for  this  was  chiefly  founded  on  the  great  importance  attached  in 
ancient  times  to  the  keeping  together  of  families— the  transmis- 
sion of  their  traditions — the  maintenance  of  discipline  and  mo- 
rality, of  stedfastness  and  community.  This  family  relation- 
ship had  clearly  continued  in  Egypt,  and  preserved  Israel  from 
disruption.  It  was  in  after  times  one  of  the  foundation-stones  of 
the  Israelitish  political  constitution.  But  God  could  take  away 
the  right  of  the  first-born,  and  choose  the  last  to  be  first,  and  He 
had  chosenlsrael  as  His  first-born  son  before  all  people  (ch.  iv.22). 
As  a  retribution  upon  Pharaoh  and  Egypt  for  withholding  this 
from  Him,  He  had  slain  the  first-born  of  Egypt.  Among  the 
people  of  God  the  right  of  the  first-born  was  a  holy  one.  Of 
Isaac's  sons  the  first-born  was  the  channel  of  transmission  of  the 
Divine  promises  of  grace,  and  to  this  birthright  appear  to  have 
been  attached  early  privileges,  which,  if  not  priestly,  had  a  re- 
semblance to  the  Levitical.  At  all  events,  the  first-born  was  the 
head,  the  centre  of  unity  in  the  family,  and  so  God's  representa- 
tive. After  the  judgment  on  the  Egyptian  first-born,  Israel  was 
now  in  a  double  way  God's  peculiar  possession.  He  had  spared 
them  of  His  mercy,  as  He  had  punished  the  Egyptians.  As  a 
thank-offering,  were  all  the  first-born  to  be  given  up  to  Him. 
This  sacrifice  consisted  in  the  perfect  surrender  to  the  service  of 
the  Lord ;  in  which  respect  the  tribe  of  Levi  in  later  times 
stood  in  the  place  of  the  first-born.  Num.  iii.  13,  and  the  first- 
born were  hence  under  an  obligation  to  tax  themselves  for  its 
support ;  at  the  same  time,  the  first-born  was  yet  further  released 
by  an  express  offering.  In  all  this  we  perceive  a  type  of  Him 
who  is  "  the  first-born  of  every  creature,"  Col.  i.  15  ;  who  gave 
Himself  to  God  by  the  sacrifice  of  His  own  will  once  for  all,  for 
the  sanctification  of  all,  and  not  merely  as  a  typical  service.  His 
death  became  at  the  same  time  the  effectual  sin-offering  for 
men  :  cf.  Heb.  x.  5-10.  This  is  the  deep  significance  of  the  law 
before  us,  by  means  of  which  Moses  was  led  to  a  clearer  under- 
standing of  what  took  place  before  his  eyes. 

Ver.  3.  Said. — He  had,  according  to  ch.  xii.  21-27,  only 
spoken  to  the  people  of  the  slaying  the  lamb,  and  striking  the 
posts  with  blood.  When  in  the  haste  of  the  journey  they  were 
compelled  to  eat  the  unleavened  dough,  he  made  known  to  them 


EXODUS  XIII.  4-9.  245 

this  commandment,  which  gave  a  deep  meaning  to  an  apparently- 
accidental  circumstance.  When  Moses  in  this  place,  and  after- 
wards very  often,  speaks  with  "  the  people,"  with  "  the  whole 
congregation,"  we  are  to  understand  thereby  that  he  called  the 
elders  to  him  in  presence  of  the  people  (ch.  xii.  28),  and  these 
communicated  to  the  people  what  he  had  told  them. 

Eaten. — Because  the  Lord  hath  preserved,  made  you  His 
own,  and  sanctified  you,  ye  shall  observe  this  sign  of  purity.  . 

Ver.  4.  Ahih  means  "  month  of  ears  of  corn."  On  this  month 
the  harvest  began,  the  first-fruits  of  which  were  brought  on  the 
feast  of  the  Passover.  The  mention  of  it  here  is  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  mere  date  ;  rather,  the  name  signifies  that  the  people 
in  the  month  of  harvest  was  earned  as  the  first-fruit  by  the 
Lord. 

Ver.  5.  Honey. — Cf.  iii.  17,  note. 

Ver.  7.  Seven  days. — Repeated  for  the  sake  of  emphasis,  as 
Gen.  i.  27. 

Ver.  9.  Memorial. — From  this  passage,  as  from  the  similar 
places,  ver.  16,  Deut.  vi.  8,  ch.  xi.  18,  the  custom  of  the  Rab- 
binical Jews  has  its  origin  (of  those  among  them,  at  least,  who 
assign  to  tradition  an  equal  weight  with  Holy  Scripture),  accord- 
ing to  which  the  Jews  write  on  strips  of  parchment  certain  pas- 
sages out  of  the  law — Exod.  xiii.  2-10,  11-16  ;  Deut.  vi.  4-9, 
ch.  xi.  13-21;  according  to  Jerome,  the  ten  commandments — and 
hang  them  between  their  eyes,  and  bind  them  on  their  hands 
(Thephillin,  called  phylacteries  St  Matt,  xxiii.  5)  :  while  the 
Caraite  Jews,  who  follow  Scripture  only,  explain  the  passages 
figuratively.  In  the  place  before  us,  it  is  plain,  at  the  first 
glance  into  the  context,  that  the  precept  was  never  meant  to  be 
understood  literally,  since  at  ver.  16  the  feast  itself  is  called  "a 
token  upon  the  hand,"  etc.  In  the  same  way  it  is  said,  Prov. 
iii.  3,  "  Bind  them  about  thy  neck,  and  write  them  on  the  table 
of  thine  heart."  The  figure  is  derived  from  the  amulets  which 
the  heathen  were  accustomed  to  hang  about  them  to  avert  evil, 
or  attract  the  influences  of  divine  mercy.  What  this  kind  of 
superstitious  service  was  supposed  to  afford  the  heathen,  that 
should  Israel  by  the  solemnisation  of  the  holy  feast  really  obtain, 
as  in  this  it  gave  itself  anew  to  God  as  His  covenanted  people. 
The  other  passages  mean  the  same.  The  Jewish  custom  origi- 
nated at  a  time  (probably  after  the  return  from  Babylon)  when 


246  EXODUS  XIII.  13-22. 

Israel,  by  means  of  its  traditions,  had  perverted  the  holy  spiritual 
commandments  of  God  into  doctrines  of  men  :  cf.  St  Matt. 
XV.  6. 

Ver.  13.  Ass. — Afterwards,  when  the  laws  concerning  the 
unclean  beasts  were  given,  it  is  added,  "  of  every  unclean  beast." 

Ver.  18.  Led  the  people  about. — In  the  leading  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  there  is  a  manifest  difference  between  what  was  God's 
original  purpose  in  respect  to  it,  and  what  afterwards  took  place 
as  a  punishment  of  their  rebellion.  This  first  journey  into  the 
wilderness  to  Mount  Sinai  was  a  compassion  to  the  people,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  prove  them,  and  was  very  different  from  the 
forty  years'  wandering,  to  which  they  were  condemned  (Num. 
xiv.)  when  about  to  invade  the  Promised  Land.  By  the  straight 
line  of  march  through  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  the  Israelites 
would  have  had  not  much  more  than  three  days'  journey  to  the 
frontier.  But  the  Philistines,  of  all  the  people  who  had  migrated 
from  Crete,  were  the  most  powerful  (cf.  Gen.  x.  14),  and  were 
never  entirely  subdued  by  the  Israelites.  It  is  only  after  the 
Babylonish  Captivity,  and  amid  the  revolutions  of  the  great 
Asiatic  empires,  that  the  Philistines  entirely  disappear  from 
history.  The  judgment  of  God  was  not  destined  especially  to 
fall  on  them,  as  they  were  not  Canaanites. 

Red  Sea. — "The  reedy  sea"  (Heb.,  Suph),  on  account  of  the 
quantity  of  sea-weed  which  grows  therein.  It  is  often  called  the 
Red  Sea  in  the  O.  T.,  and  also  in  Egyptian. 

Harnessed  as  for  war ;  prepared  for  a  hostile  attack. 

Ver.  19.  My  hones. — Gen.  1.  25.  So  long  as  Joseph's  ser- 
vices were  kept  in  thankful  remembrance  among  the  Egyptians 
they  would  scarcely  allow  his  body,  like  that  of  Jacob  (Gen.  1.  5), 
to  be  interred  in  Canaan.  Foreseeing  this,  Joseph  had  made 
the  elders  swear  that  oath  mentioned  in  Gen.  1.,  and  thereby 
kept  alive  among  them  a  continual  remembrancer  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  God's  promises  made  to  their  fathers.  We  perceive 
from  the  narrative  before  us  how  vividly  these  promises  were 
preserved  in  an  unbroken  tradition  by  the  Israelites  in  Egypt. 

Ver.  22.  Took  not  away. — At  Etham,  at  the  entrance  into  the 
wilderness,  when  their  march  beaan  to  be  throush  a  trackless 
land  where  God  alone  could  direct  them,  does  the  mention  occur 
for  the  first  time  of  the  miraculous  guidance  of  Israel  by  means 
of  the  pillars  of  cloud  and  of  fire.     Among  many  ancient  nations, 


EXODUS  XIV.  2.  247 

smoke  by  day  and  fire  by  night  were  signals  in  time  of  war. 
Among  the  ancient  Persians,  "the  holy  eternal  fire,"  which  was  to 
them  the  visible  appearance  of  the  godhead  on  earth,  was  carried 
on  silver  altars  before  the  army  in  time  of  war.  The  appearance, 
in  which  the  Lord  afforded  to  His  people  not  merely  a  memorial 
sign  of  His  continual  presence  and  guidance,  but  in  which  He 
truly  dwelt  among  His  people,  might  well  bear  a  certain  resem- 
blance to  this  and  other  customs  of  heathen  nations.  It  was  one 
and  the  same  cloud  which  cast  a  shadow  by  day  and  gave  light 
by  night  (cf.  ch.  xiv.  19,  20).  This  outward  sign  had  an  in- 
ward emblematic  meaning.  In  the  desert,  under  the  hot  burn- 
ing sun,  the  sight  of  a  shady  cloud  is  most  pleasant  and  relresh- 
ing — it  acts  as  a  screen  in  front,  and  so  a  defence  against  the 
enemy ;  while  the  pillar  of  fire  in  the  dreary  pathless  desert  at 
night,  during  which  the  march  for  the  most  part  is  made,  affbrds 
a  comforting  sense  of  security.  Moreover,  the  cloud  veiled  the 
Divine  Majesty,  and  was  a  continual  remembrancer  to  Israel 
that  they  were  not  to  make  any  image  or  likeness  of  their  God. 
There  is  frequent  mention  made  of  this  cloud  and  pillar  of  fire 
in  the  O.  T. :  Ps.  Ixxviii.  14,  xcix.  7,  cv.  39;  Neh.  ix.  19. 
And  the  prophet  perceives  in  the  defence  of  the  shadow  of 
the  pillar  and  cloud  a  type  of  the  eternal,  all-protecting,  and 
glorifying  presence  of  the  Lord,  Isa.  iv.  5.  The  people,  by  pass- 
ing through  the  sea  under  the  cloud,  "  were  baptized  unto 
Moses,"  1  Cor.  x.  2. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Ver.  2.  Tarn. — The  dwelling-place  of  the  people  of  Israel  in 
Egypt  had  been  Goshen,  called  from  its  principal  town  "  the 
land  of  Rameses."  It  is  pi'obable  that  the  people  had  collected 
for  the  most  part  here,  and  they  marched  out  from  that  town, 
for  which  they  had  for  more  than  eighty  years  been  obliged  to 
make  bricks.  Their  route  lay  through  the  valley  which  after- 
wards formed  the  bed  of  the  great  canal  between  the  Nile  and 
the  Red  Sea,  even  at  that  time  affected  commonly  by  the  over- 
flowings of  the  Nile.     From  thence  the  Israelites  could  easily 


248  EXODUS  XIV. 

march  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez  in  three  days,  the  distance 
being  about  thirty-six  or  forty  miles.  Moses  began  to  lead  the 
people  this  way,  which  was  the  accustomed  one  from  Ai'abia  to 
Egypt,  and  which  was  sufficiently  familiar  to  him  from  his  own 
journeyings.  Etham,  the  exact  site  of  which  cannot  be  deter- 
mined, lay,  therefore,  probably  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  only 
harbour  of  this  part,  Suez.  But  suddenly  he  receives  a  com- 
mand from  the  Lord  not  to  pursue  this  road  any  farther.  The 
Avhole  army  turns  towards  the  south,  where  a  range  of  hills — on 
the  west  now  called  Mokattam,  on  the  east  Attaka — runs  from 
the  Nile  to  the  Red  Sea.  In  this  waste  region  of  coast-country 
they  had  on  their  right  the  sea,  on  their  left  the  range  of  moun- 
tains, behind  and  before  them  the  wilderness.  When  Pharaoh 
perceives  this  change  in  their  line  of  march,  he  believes  that  they 
have  lost  their  way,  and  are  given  into  his  hands.  He  follows 
after  them,  and,  humanly  speaking,  all  hope  was  at  an  end. 
Then  the  miracle  of  the  dividing  of  the  Red  Sea  takes  place. 
Opposite  Ras  Attaka,  the  last  peak  of  the  range  of  hills,  the 
sea  is  from  W.  to  E.  about  twelve  miles  broad.  If  the  east 
wind  made  a  road  in  this  part,  the  water  standing  up  like  walls 
on  either  side,  in  that  case  the  alarmed  people  might  by  haste 
effect  a  passage  in  one  night ;  so  that,  when  Pharaoh  in  the 
morning  pursued  after  them,  they  had  reached  the  other  side. 
The  supposition  of  modern  travellers,  who  place  the  spot  of  the 
crossing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Suez,  north  of  this  place — 
where  the  gulf  runs  out  into  a  narrow  strip,  about  1500  paces 
wide,  which  at  ebb-tide  could  be  easily  waded — is  altogether 
in  contradiction  to  the  history,  and  rests  on  unsuccessful  attempts 
to  explain  the  miracle  by  natural  causes.  We  find  here  the 
same  miraculous  guidance  of  the  Lord  which  at  all  times  at- 
tends God's  kingdom  on  earth.  He  might  have  permitted  His 
people  to  gain  the  wilderness  by  the  accustomed  route,  and  there 
by  simple  means  have  defended  them  from  the  power  of 
Pharaoh  ;  but  He  willed  to  make  known  His  glory  on  this  self- 
willed  heathen,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  a  mighty  miracle  of 
deliverance,  to  sever  His  people,  and  for  ever,  from  fellowship 
with  the  heathen.  When  the  need  has  reached  its  highest  point, 
the  Lord  shows  Himself  a  deliverer  in  the  mightiest  way.  He 
brings  about  the  conversion  of  the  people,  and  thereby  sets  forth 
this  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  as  an  image  of  Christian  baptism 


EXODUS  XIV.  3-7.  249 

(1  Cor.  X.  1,  etc.),  whicli  separates  us  from  the  world  and  the 
prince  of  the  world,  and  hands  us  over  to  the  guidance  of  the 
Lord  through  the  wilderness  of  earth  to  the  heavenly  Canaan. 

Pl-hahirotli  means  "  mouth  of  the  caves  ;"  but  is  probably  only 
turned  into  Hebrew  from  the  Coptic,  where  it  has  the  significa- 
tion "  place  of  the  green  turf." 

Migdol. — This  word,  which  often  occurs  as  the  name  of  places 
in  Palestine,  means  "  Tower ;"  in  the  Coptic,  "  multitude  of 
mountains."  This  place  is  often  spoken  of  in  the  prophets,  but 
is  otherwise  unknown. 

Baal-zeplion, — This  word  means  in  Heb.,  "  Lord  of  the 
North."  However,  Ave  may  recognise  therein  the  Egyptian  god 
Typhon,  "  Place  of  Typhon."  This  was  the  evil  spirit  which 
came  in  the  hot  wind  out  of  the  desert  to  destroy  the  creations 
of  Osiris  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  The  place  lay  on  the  naked 
range  of  coast  on  the  Red  Sea. 

Ver.  3.  Entangled. — The  Divine  guidance  had  so  ordained, 
that  by  thus  thinking  he  should  run  to  his  own  destruction. 

Ver.  4.  Honoured. — God  is  glorified  in  His  enemies  by  their 
destruction.  God's  governance  of  the  world,  which  they  would 
put  away,  brings  them  to  nought,  and  thereby  proves  its  own 
Divine,  eternal  origin. 

Ver.  5.  Turned  against. — Ch.  xi.  3,  ch.  xii.  36.  So  this  change 
of  mind  might  constitute  the  apparently  unwise  alteration  of 
plan  of  marching  to  Pi-hahiroth,  with  the  Red  Sea  on  their  left. 
They  might  imagine,  therefore,  that  Moses  was  no  true  prophet, 
and  that  the  guidance  of  God  had  forsaken  His  people. 

Ver.  7.  Captains. — Heb. :  "  And  all  the  chariots  of  Egypt,  and 
three  combatants  on  each."  We  do  not,  among  the  ancient 
Egyptians  nor  the  most  ancient  Greeks  (in  Homer,  e.g.),  hear 
of  cavalry,  properly  so  called  ;  but  what  was  afterwards  a  horse- 
soldier  (as  Hippotes  in  Homer),  was  a  combatant  in  a  war- 
chariot.  In  every  one  of  these  there  were  three  men,  of  whom 
one  guided  the  horse — the  two  others  fought :  here  the  name 
translated  "  captains  "  is  three  combatants, — We  know,  from 
authentic  information  of  the  ancients,  that  the  main  position  of 
the  military  caste  lay  on  the  eastern  frontier,  where  Egypt  was 
most  exposed,  so  that  Pharaoh  could  on  the  spot  summon  a  large 
force.  We  know,  likewise,  that  the  kings  of  Egypt  kept  up  a 
considerable  body-guard.     And  although  the  force  here  named 


250  EXODUS  XIV.  8-24. 

appears  inconsiderable  against  the  vast  mass  of  the  Israelites, 
yet  we  must  take  into  consideration  the  great  superiority  every 
disciplined  army  has  over  even  so  vast  a  number  of  undisciplined 
men ;  and  likewise,  more  especially,  the  circumstance,  that  in 
Egypt  no  one  but  the  military  class  was  allowed  to  carry  arms. 
Thus  Israel  was  at  that  time  without  weapons.  For  this  reason, 
they  were  obliged  to  prepare  arms  in  the  wilderness  for  the  con- 
quest of  Canaan,  as  they  did  not  possess  them  before. 

Ver.  8.  Hhjh  hand;  i.e.,  boldly,  joyfully,  openly:  though  it 
must  be  confessed  that  this  boldness  was  soon  succeeded  by  as 
great  fearful ness,  which,  indeed,  was  often  the  case  in  the  after 
history  of  this  wayward  people. 

Ver.  12.  Better. — They  had  been  bold,  and  had  rejoiced  in  the 
continued  enjoyment  of  God's  miraculous  protection ;  but  their 
faith  has  so  little  root,  that  it  cannot  stand  against  the  first 
assault.  However,  here  there  is  no  mention  of  any  rebuke  to 
His  people  from  the  Lord.  He  trains  with  patience  His  self- 
willed  children,  and  passes  over  their  first  outbreak  without 
reproof. 

Ver.  15.  Criest  unto  Me  ? — It  is  here  implied  that  Moses  had 
at  that  time  prayed  unto  the  Lord.  He  tells  him  the  help  for 
which  he  asks  is  at  hand :  let  him  stand  up  and  act. 

Ver  19.  Angel  of  God. — According  to  ch.  xiii.  21,  it  was  the 
Lord  Himself.  It  was  the  Angel  in  whom  His  name,  His  whole 
revealed  nature,  dwelt :   cf.  Gen.  xvi.  7,  note. 

Ver.  21.  Stretched. — Every  one  must  see  that  here  a  miracle 
of  the  most  wonderful  kind  is  narrated.  The  ebb  of  the  tide, 
though  very  prolonged,  could  never  have  produced  the  effect 
here  narrated,  viz.,  the  passage  on  dry  ground  of  two  millions  of 
men,  with  their  herds,  during  a  space  of  twelve  hours.  The 
result  is  quite  inconceivable,  that  "  the  people  should  hear  and 
fear,"  had  nothing  else  happened  than  the  march  of  the  Israelites 
at  ebb-tide  under  the  guidance  of  a  skilful  and  prudent  leader; 
and  Pharaoh  would  not  have  ventured  into  the  sea  at  the  flow 
of  the  tide.  Whoever  receives  the  account  as  true,  will  feel 
even  now,  on  reading  it,  an  awe  in  thought  of  the  Divine 
Majesty  which  then  revealed  itself.  The  eyes  of  his  faith  will 
be  opened  to  behold  the  same  wonders  in  the  history  of  God's 
people,  and  of  His  own  children,  happening  even  now  about  him. 
Ver.  24.  Pillar. — He  revealed  Himself  to  them  in  a  fearful 


EXODUS  XIV.  2G-31  ;    XV.  1,  251 

manner  from  thence.  The  Egyptians  had  pursued  the  Israelites 
in  the  thick  darkness,  which  was  so  much  the  easier,  as  the 
water  at  first  remained  divided  for  them.  But  when  the  morn- 
ing came,  the  piUar  of  the  cloud,  which  was  floating  before  them, 
would  fill  them  with  an  anxious  foreboding  of  their  fate,  and 
with  the  feeling  of  the  presence  of  some  awful  mystery. 

Ver.  26.  Egyptians. — By  morning  (in  twelve  hours)  the 
Israelites  had  reached  the  opposite  shore,  distant  about  three 
miles.  The  Egyptians,  closely  following  on  them,  filled  the 
whole  sea-way  which  had  been  dried  uj). 

Ver.  27.  Fled. — On  the  western  shore  the  east  wind  first 
betjan  to  cease.  The  water  therefore  returned  back  there  first 
to  its  bed.  The  Egyptians,  flying  from  the  Israelites,  met  the 
returning  waves. 

Ver.  30.  Hand  of  the  Egyptians. — An  expressive  summing  up 
of  the  great  miraculous  event,  similarly  with  ch.  vi.  26,  27,  ch. 
xi.  9,  10,  ch.  xii.  51. 

Ver.  31.  Servant  Moses. — It  was  not  only  a  feeling  of  awe  at 
God's  Majesty,  but  likewise  one  of  confiding  trust  in  His  merci- 
ful protection,  which  now  filled  the  whole  congregation  of 
Israelites  ;  though,  indeed,  with  the  majority  the  feeling  had  no 
permanence.  The  Lord  and  His  servant  are  here  most  closely 
associated,  because  all  revelations  of  God  to  His  people  came 
through  Moses ;  and  one  main  object  of  the  guidance  by  his 
hands  was,  to  convince  them  of  the  Divine  office  of  this  servant 
of  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Ver.  1.  Sang. — Israel  was  now  in  safety  ;  and  at  once  its 
awakened  and  confirmed  faith  pours  itself  forth  in  a  song  of 
thanksgiving  and  triumph.  Moses  was  the  inspired  leader  of  the 
song  :  the  people  followed  after  him.  The  entire  hymn  consists 
of  two  parts.  The  first  looks  back  on  the  ])ast,  on  the  mighty 
deed  of  Jehovah  just  experienced ;  the  other  looks  forward 
with  confidence  to  the  future — the  rest  and  peace  in  Canaan, 
and  so  becomes  at  the  same  time  a  praj'ei".  Thankfulness  for  the 
mercy  received,  is  the  ground  of  hope  that  the  Lord  will  not  leave 


252  EXODUS  XV.  2-5. 

the  work  He  has  begun.  The  thouglits  and  tlie  imagery  of  the 
song  are  simple  and  forcible.  They  dwell  on  the  great  event 
which  has  happened.  They  are  derived  from  what  they  have 
seen  with  their  eyes,  without  much  movement  or  variety,  as 
belongs  to  songs  of  very  ancient  times,  and  as  under  these  cir- 
cumstances was  likely  to  be  the  case. — We  find,  in  this  hA^mn, 
the  first  traces  of  that  arrangement  of  Hebrew  poetry  which 
divides  each  verse  into  two,  and  often  more,  lines.  Apparently 
these  hymns  were  sung  from  the  first  responsorially  or  anti- 
phonally.  As  soon  as  the  chorus  of  men  had  finished,  the 
chorus  of  women  repeats  the  whole  ;  Miriam,  as  prophetess,  re- 
iterating the  same  in  a  more  general  way.  The  song,  by  the 
peculiar  force  and  beauty  with  which  it  sets  the  whole  history 
before  us,  had  also  the  purpose  of  being  a  living,  continual  wit- 
ness of  the  people  to  the  great  event.  It  was  intended  to  de- 
clare to  posterity  through  all  ages,  that  so  many  hundred  thou- 
sands beheld  the  great  works  of  the  Lord  which  gave  existence 
to  His  people,  and  which  would  leave  behind  them  such  a  monu- 
ment for  their  children.  Therefore  we  find  in  many  poetical 
parts  of  the  prophets,  echoes,  as  it  were,  of  this  song  of  Moses. 

Trimnphed. — Heb. :  "  He  is  high  exalted,"  or,  "  He  has  exalted 
Himself;"  i.e.,  revealed  Himself  in  His  great  Majesty. 

Ver.  2.  Salvation. — At  the  very  commencement  is  all  honour 
in  the  redemption  of  the  people  ascribed  to  the  Lord.  In  the 
Heb.,  the  position  of  the  words  gives  even  more  expression  : 
"  My  strength  and  praise  is  Jah,  and  He  is  salvation  to  me" 
(Jah  is  the  contracted  form  of  Jehovah  or  Jahveh).  The  mean- 
ing is  :  "  All  my  feeling  and  thoughts  are  now  directed  to  the 
One  Beincr." 

Exalt  Him. — With  the  praise  of  the  sole  majesty  of  Jehovah 
is  connected  the  elevating  and  animating  feeling,  that  it  is  the 
God  of  covenant  who  has  fulfilled  for  His  people  the  promise 
made  to  their  fathers. 

Ver.  3.  Name. — Lit, :  "  He  it  is"  is  His  name :  cf.  ch.  iii.  14. 
He  is  the  true  "  Man  of  war,"  because  He  alone  exists  :  every- 
thing which  is,  has  being  and  existence  only  from  Him ;  there- 
fore all  His  enemies  are  but  chaff  before  Him. 

Ver.  5.  Sank. — They  could  not  save  themselves  by  swimming. 
The  greatness  of  the  miracle  is  hereby  graphically  described, 
as  ver.  10. 


EXODUS  XV.  7-17.  253 

Vcr.  7.  Consumed. — God's  anger  is  likened  to  a  consuming 
fire  :  as  the  stubble  is  to  flame,  so  is  the  opposition  of  His 
enemies  to  the  almighty  power  of  God. 

Ver.  8.  Congealed ;  lit.,  "  curdled"  like  milk. 

Yer.  11. — Lit. :  "  Who  is  as  Thou  among  the  gods,  Jehovah  ? 
who  is  as  Thou,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doer  of 
wonders "?"  Seized  with  wonder,  he  inquires,  who  is  like  the 
Lord  ?  His  matchless  greatness  forces  itself  on  the  observance 
of  those  who  consider  His  deeds.  "  Among  the  gods,"  does  not 
at  all  mean  among  the  heavenly,  the  angelic  natures ;  but  he 
compares  the  Lord  with  all  heathen  deities.  The  writer  does  not 
attribute  to  these  deities  real  existence,  as  though  they  were  to  be 
regarded  as  higher  beings,  as  powers  of  the  spiritual  world,  who 
have  fallen  away  from  God.  The  expression  is  rather  a  bold 
poetic  figure  of  speech,  by  which  the  nothingness  of  the  gods  is 
designated.  God  is  glorious  in  holiness  :  all  the  glorious  attributes 
of  His  Divine  nature  are  pervaded  and  animated  by  His  holiness. 
"  Fearful  in  praises ;"  i.e.,  celebrated  with  the  deepest  reverences 
by  hymns  of  praise. 

Ver.  13.  Hast  guided. — Since  in  the  miraculous  commence- 
ment of  the  guidance  of  the  Lord  lay  the  certain  pledge  of  its 
fulfilment. 

Ver.  14.  Palestina. — "  Sorrow  took  hold  of  Peleschcth :" 
the  Pelischtim,  the  Philistines,  the  inhabitants  of  the  south- 
western low  country  on  the  sea  in  Canaan  (cf.  Gen.  x.  14,  note). 
The  nearest  were  the  first  named.  It  seems  as  though  it  were 
concealed  from  ISIoses  at  the  time  that  these,  in  particular,  were 
not  to  be  attacked. 

Ver.  17.  Have  established. — A  prophetic  view  cast  forwards  to 
a  (then)  distant  future ;  since  a  long  time  elapsed  before  the 
sanctuary  obtained  an  established  dwelling-place  in  Mt.  Zion. 
The  mention  of  tliis  in  the  oldest  and  most  known  sono-  of  Israel, 
must  afterwards  have  proved  a  great  confirmation  to  the  belief  that 
the  sanctuary  stood  on  no  place  arbitrarily  chosen,  but  on  that  spot 
which  the  Lord  had  appointed.  The  words,  then,  "  which  Thy 
hands  have  established,"  refer  to  the  eternal  continuance  of  Zion. 
The  people  shall  be  planted  "  on  the  Holy  Mountain" — while, 
elsewhere,  the  whole  of  Canaan  is  called  its  dwelling-place,  and 
actually  afterwards  so  was — because  from  the  sanctuary  the 
Lord  governed  and  blessed  the  people.     The  mountain  of  the 


254  EXODUS  XV.  18,  20. 

sanctuary  is  the  place  where  this  tree  takes  root,  which  spreads 
itself  over  the  whole  land  and  overshadows  it. 

Ver.  18.  The  Lord  shall  reign. — These  words,  which  sum  up 
the  contents  of  the  song  in  reference  to  the  past  and  future, 
seem  to  form  the  conclusion  of  it.  The  followinrc  words  are  a 
prose  addition,  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  explanation,  which 
was  not  required,  as  for  concluding  corroboration,  as  ch.  vi.  26, 
eh.  xi.  10,  ch.  xiv.  30.  God  is  here  for  the  first  time  called  a 
King  (shall  reign),  (the  patriarchs  knew  Him  as  the  Lord,  the 
Shepherd),  because  He  now  had  formed  for  Himself  a  people 
and  kingdom  on  earth.  This  name  forms  the  leading  thought 
in  the  whole  constitution  of  the  people. 

Ver.  20.  Miriam. — Her  name  is  written  Mariam  by  the 
Greek  translators,  and  appears  afterwards  to  have  been  so  pro- 
nounced. It  is  the  N.  T.  name  Maria.  She  is  called  a  pro- 
phetess, by  which  we  are  to  understand  not  an  office  of  any 
kind,  but  the  peculiar  endowment  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  and  this 
was  not  so  much  the  power  of  predicting  future  events,  as  an 
inward  suggestion  and  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  for  the  purpose  of 
arousing,  exhorting,  comforting,  rebuking,  in  inspired  and  poetic 
language.  Several  prophetesses  of  this  description  are  mentioned 
in  the  O.  T.,  as  Deborah  the  judge,  Huldah,  etc.  The  raising 
up  of  such  prophetesses  was  at  all  times  an  exception  to  the  rule, 
and  was  altogether  to  cease  in  the  N.  T.  dispensation  ;  but  the 
whole  prophetic  office  was  itself  also  an  exception,  in  which,  so 
soon  as  a  rule  was  established,  fresh  exceptions  started  forth  (cf. 
Amos  vii.  14).  Over  and  beside  the  regular  guidance  of  His 
people  through  the  priestly  and  kingly  offices,  God  willed  to 
interfere  in  an  extraordinary  manner  with  the  government  of 
them,  when  these  offices  by  man's  sin  lost  their  vitality,  and 
were  deprived  of  their  sanctity.  IMiriam  is  called  here  Aaron's 
sister,  as  he  himself  performed  the  office  of  Moses'  prophet,  and 
probably  had  taken  the  lead  in  the  chorus  of  men  as  IMiriam  in 
that  of  the  women  :  cf.  iv.  14. 

Ver.  20.  Timbrels. — The  song  was  accompanied  by  the  hand- 
drum  (tambourine) — a  ring  with  skin  stretched  over  it,  and  with 
little  bells  attached.  The  same  kind  is  at  this  day  cai'ried  by 
Oriental  women  in  processions.  IMiriam  went  first,  the  others 
followed  "in  rows" — made  a  solemn  procession  in  a  tricircular 
dance.     The  manner  of  expressing  enthusiastic  religious  emo- 


EXODUS  XV.  21,  22.  255 


tions  by  regular  graceful  movements  and  postures  of  body,  is 
often  mentioned  in  the  O.  T. :  Judges  xxi.  21  ;  2  Sam.  vi. 
14  ;  1  Sam.  xviii.  6 ;  Jer.  xxxi.  4,  etc.  Dances  not  of  a  re- 
ligious character,  appear  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  Isi'aelites. 
Similar  religious  processions  of  women,  with  song  and  dance, 
still  take  place  in  the  East ;  as,  e.g.,  in  Egypt  when  the  Nile 
begins  to  rise.  The  degradation  of  the  dance  into  an  instrument 
of  vanity,  has  estranged  it  from  the  service  of  God,  as  has  been 
the  case  with  so  many  of  the  fine  arts.  But  we  may  expect, 
from  the  strengthening  of  the  Christian  Church,  that  it  will 
again,  in  time  to  come,  consecrate  to  the  Lord  whatever  has 
been  withdrawn  from  Plim  :  as  some  particular  sects  (in  North 
America)  have  introduced,  though  certainly  after  a  most  objec- 
tionable manner,  the  dance  into  their  worship. 

Ver.  21.  Ansivered — viz.,  the  men;  i.e.,  she  sang  an  anti- 
stro])he  to  the  preceding  song  of  the  men.  The  same  thing 
occurs  1  Sam.  xviii.  7,  and  is  alluded  to  Cant.  vi.  13.  The 
whole  was  a  repetition  in  prophetic  fervour  of  the  main  thoughts 
of  the  song,  the  two  lines  being  sung  antiphonally. 

Ver.  22.  Moses  brought. — Israel  now  entered  on  the  long 
march  in  the  wilderness,  through  which  he  was  to  reach  the 
Promised  Land.  The  Red  Sea  is  divided  on  the  north  side 
into  two  long  bays,  that  of  Pleroonpolis  and  iElan — or,  as  they 
are  now  called,  of  Suez  and  Akaba.  Between  these  two  is  situ- 
ated the  peninsula  which,  together  with  the  slip  of  desert  to  the 
north,  on  the  Mediterranean  and  south  border  of  Palestine,  is 
called  Arabia  Petrsea.  To  the  south,  between  the  two  arms  of 
the  sea,  runs  a  range  of  limestone  and  sandstone  hills,  the  chief 
of  which  is  a  granite  mountain,  now  called  Tur — in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, Horeb.  The  wilderness  begins  at  the  point  where  the 
effects  of  the  overflowings  of  the  Nile  cease,  about  three  days' 
journey  from  the  sea-coast.  It  is  not  sandy  in  every  part ;  but 
a  wide  extent  of  surface  is  often  to  be  met  with,  covered  with  a 
silicious  earth.  In  some  few  spots  there  occur  scanty,  and 
frequently  salt  springs  :  by  the  side  of  the  sweeter  waters  are  pas- 
ture-grounds, with  their  palm-trees — garden  spots — little  oases  : 
elsewhere,  scarcely  anything  beside  acacias  and  tamarisk  trees 
are  to  be  found.  At  the  present  time  from  about  4000  to  GOOO 
Arabs  inhabit  this  peninsula.  Northwards  from  Sinai,  where 
the  granite  pass  into  the  sandstone  mountains,  the  heights  arc 


256  EXODUS  XV.  22. 

less  considerable,  the  peaks  more  rounded,  and  the  valleys  more 
genial.  Still  farther  north  there  runs  a  barren,  sandy  plain, 
bounded  from  W.  to  E.  by  a  long  ridge  of  hills  of  nearly  equal 
altitude,  from  Suez  to  Akaba.  On  the  other  side  this  ridge, 
called  El-Tieh,  runs  the  just  named  dreary  wilderness  up  to  the 
Mediterranean.  Here  the  streams  are  extremely  few,  and  far 
and  wide  not  a  tree  or  a  shrab,  and  not  a  sino;le  villao:e  from 
Sinai  to  Gaza.  This  march  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness 
was  certainly  of  great  importance  for  the  training  of  the  people. 
The  Lord  "  allured  her,  and  brought  her  into  the  wilderness  to 
speak  comfortably  to  her:"  Hosea  ii.  14.  Then  was  Israel  a 
beloved  young  bride  :  Jer.  ii.  2.  No  other  discipline  could 
have  freed  them  so  entirely  from  the  former  bands  of  heathenism 
and  irreligion.  But  that  which,  in  the  original  design  of  the 
Lord,  would  have  been  a  short  time  of  trial  and  purification, 
became  extended  to  a  long  period  of  punishment,  as  they  had 
tempted  the  Lord  ten  times,  and  He  sware  in  His  wrath  that 
none  of  those  who  came  out  from  Egypt  should  see  the  Promised 
Land.  So  their  wanderings  became  forty,  instead  of  the  two 
years  originally  designed  :  Num.  xiv.  23.  And  yet  the  blessing 
of  this  guidance  of  their  fathers  was  not  lost  on  the  following 
generation.  We  behold,  under  Joshua,  an  era  appear,  the  like 
of  which  seldom  is  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  the  people  of 
God.  At  the  very  beginning  of  their  journeyings  we  meet  with  a 
rule  of  God's  dealing  with  the  people,  which  is  constantly  car- 
ried out.  For  while  He  by  miracle  and  immediate  revelation 
guided  and  supported  His  people,  yet  natural  means  are  not 
excluded,  but  rather  Israel  is  continually  referred  to  them. 
Thus  the  advice  of  Jethro,  ch.  xviii. — the  pointing  out  of  resting- 
places  in  the  wilderness  by  the  same  (Hobab),  Num.  x.  31. — the 
means  of  nourishment  from  the  natural  products  of  the  wilder- 
ness, besides  the  manna.  Thus  was  it  likewise  with  respect  to 
water.  Modern  travellers  have  very  justly  mentioned  the  fact, 
that  so  great  a  host  of  men  could  not  at  present  live  on  the 
peninsula,  merely  on  account  of  want  of  water.  Now  we  find 
that  they  often  meet  with  springs — that  water  gushes  out  of  the 
rock  at  the  command  of  Moses ;  still  all  this  would,  under  the 
ordinary  com'se  of  things,  have  been  insufficient.  We  must 
necessarily  conclude  from  what  is  told  us,  according  to  analogy, 
that  God  made  use  of  the  natural  products  of  the  wilderness  by 


/ 


EXODUS  XV.  23,  25.  257 

supernaturally  multiplying  them  for  the  support  of  the  Israelites. 
But  as  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire  did  not  exclude  the  guid- 
ance of  Ilohah,  nor  the  continuous  revelations  the  counsel  of 
Jethro,  in  like  manner,  the  water,  the  pasture,  in  short  all  that 
the  wilderness  afforded,  were  miraculously  blessed  to  suffice  for 
the  support  of  His  people  and  their  herds.  But  amid  all  the 
rich  supply  of  blessings,  interruptions  often  occur  for  the  trial  of 
the  people  :  the  water  did  not  suffice — it  was  denied  altogether 
— it  was  bitter.  The  Lord  treats  the  first  natural  outbreak  of 
discontent  in  our  history  with  forbearance ;  and  at  the  same 
time,  by  the  miracle  on  the  water,  He  points  to  the  inexhaust- 
ible source  of  all  life,  of  all  health,  which  the  people  have  in 
Him. 

Shur. — A  town  on  the  borders  of  Egypt,  in  the  direction  of 
Palestine,  from  which  the  adjacent  wilderness  was  named.  It 
is  improbable  that  it  should  have  been  Pelusium,  situate  on  the 
right  mouth  of  the  Nile  :  most  likely,  a  town  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  present  Suez.  The  wilderness  called  after  it  lay  on 
the  east  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  whence  the  Israelites  now 
marched  in  a  south-easterly  direction  to  Sinai. 

Ver.  23.  March. — If  we  suppose  that,  after  the  passage  through 
the  Red  Sea,  the  first  days'  journeys  of  the  Israelites  were  short, 
and  that  they  landed  in  a  part  now  called  AjunMusa,  then  they 
would  have  reached  in  fifteen  or  sixteen  hours  a  place  now  called 
Howara.  "  We  travelled  over  rough,  hilly,  gravelly,  flinty 
ground,  and  came  to  the  springs  Howara,  round  which  some 
date-trees  grew.  The  water  is  so  bitter  that  men  cannot  drink 
of  it;  and  the  camels,  unless  very  thirsty,  refuse  it." — Burckhardt, 
770.     The  scriptural  name  is  now  there  unknown. 

Ver.  25.  Siveet. — No  Arab  could  tell  modern  travellers  of  a 
tree  which  had  the  power  to  make  the  bitter  water  sweet.  The 
knowledge  of  such  would  be  very  welcome,  as  all  the  springs  of 
the  peninsula  have  more  or  less  a  brackish  and  sulphureous 
taste.  However,  the  history  says  expressly,  the  Lord  showed 
Moses  a  tree :  not  by  His  word,  or  any  other  display  of  His 
almighty  power,  did  the  water  become  sweet.  Even  if  such  a 
tree  is  unknown,  we  may  not  conclude  that  it  did  not  then  exi.•^t 
in  the  place.  Burckhardt  supposes  the  change  might  liave  been 
effected  by  means  of  the  berries  of  the  Gharkad  (wild  rue, 
Peganum  retusum),  which  grows  in  some  valleys  of  the  wildcr- 

R 


258  EXODUS  XV.  26,  27  ;   XVI. 

ness ;  but  this  will  not  quite  agree  with  the  narrative.  But 
anyhow,  the  rare  occurrence  of  the  last-named  shrub,  or  the 
slight  effect  of  the  berries,  will  be  no  argument  against  it ;  since 
the  blessing  on  means,  naturally  inadequate  to  produce  great 
effects,  is  altogether  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  history 
before  us. 

Proved  them ;  i.e.,  in  this  first  trial  He  gave  them  a  represen- 
tation of  all  future  ones,  both  in  the  weakness  they  displayed  and 
in  the  mercy  He  showed,  so  long  as  they  openly  expressed  their 
discontent,  and  did  not  proceed  to  defiance  and  disobedience  of 
Him. 

Ver.  26.  Healeth  thee. — As  I  have  now  made  the  bitter  waters 
sweet  (the  same  expression  is  used  of  the  Dead  Sea,  which  in- 
stead of  salt  water  obtains  sweet,  Ezek.  xlvii.  8). 

Ver.  27.  Elim. — This  place  has,  with  probability,  been  sup- 
posed to  lie  in  the  Wady  Gharendel,  42  miles  S.E.  of  Suez. 
"  In  the  rainy  season  there  is  a  strong  stream  here,  which  flows 
into  the  gulf.  It  was  diy  now  (September)  ;  but  we  obtained 
tolerably  good  water  at  2  or  3  feet  in  the  sand,  as  it  had  not 
rained  for  a  long  while.  As  here  there  is  no  lack  of  water,  we 
find  also  abundance  of  trees — a  pleasant  sight  for  one  coming 
from  Cairo." — Niebuhr.  The  12  wells  of  water  and  the  70 
palm-trees  correspond  with  the  12  tribes  and  the  70  elders — a 
gracious  mark  of  God's  loving-kindness. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

The  provision  which  the  IsraeHtes  had  taken  with  them,  on 
entering  the  dreary  wilderness  that  extends  to  Mt.  Sinai,  was 
sufficient  only  for  a  few  days.  When  the  people  vehemently 
express  their  discontent,  the  Lord  begins  in  a  miraculous  way  to 
provide  food  for  them  in  the  wilderness.  He  gives  them  flesh 
and  bread;  but  both  in  a  form  which  peculiarly  belonged  to 
their  place  of  abode.  In  all  the  East,  especially  in  Arabia 
Petrsea,  the  bird  translated  "  quail  "  (Teti'ao  Alchata,  Linn.) 
abounds.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a  partridge,  and  the  natives  are 
very  fond  of  its  flesh.     "  In  the  mountains  of  Belka,  Kerek, 


EXODUS  xvr.  259 

Dschebal  (in  the  land  of  the  Moabites  and  Edomites,  close  to 
the  scene  of  the  narrative  before  us),  the  bird  called  Katta  is  met 
with  in  great  numbers,  particularly  in  May  and  June.  Tliey 
fly  in  such  dense  flocks  that  the  Arabian  boys  often  kill  one  or 
two  at  a  blow,  by  merely  throwing  a  stick  at  them "  (Burkh. 
681).  From  the  time  of  this  history  the  name  of  manna  has 
been  given  generally  to  a  thick,  glutinous,  sweet  juice,  which 
oozes  out  of  many  kinds  of  shrubs.  But  more  particularly  is 
there  at  this  day,  in  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  a  shrub  of  the  tama- 
risk genius  (Tamarix  mannifera),  from  the  leaves  of  which  a 
gummy  substance  exudes,  when  pierced  by  the  sting  of  the 
cochineal  (coccus).  This  juice  curdles,  and  falls  to  the  ground  in 
a  granulated  form.  It  must  be  collected  in  the  morning  before 
the  sun  is  up,  else  it  will  melt.  This  is  eaten  as  honey  on  bread. 
These  are  the  two  natural  products  which  formed  the  ground- 
work of  the  Divine  miracle.  And  here,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
miracles  in  Egypt,  God  shows  Himself  to  be  the  Lord  of  the 
Avhole  earth,  and  of  this  land  in  particular,  not  by  creating  some- 
thing new  and  altogether  unknown,  but  by  affording  to  existing 
nature  a  richness,  a  fulness,  and  also  qualities  which  it  could  not 
else  have  possessed.  Manna  furnished  the  ground-work  of  this 
miracle ;  yet  was  it  at  the  same  time  bread  from  heaven — a  food 
Avonderfully  provided  by  God  Himself.  For,  in  the  first  place, 
it  is  quite  clear  that  all  the  quails  and  all  the  manna  of  the 
Sinaitic  peninsula,  taken  together,  would  scarcely  have  supported 
the  enormous  host  of  men  more  than  a  few  days,  since  the 
natural  manna  can  only  be  collected  sparingly  under  a  few  tama- 
risk shrubs,  scattered  here  and  there.  Next,  it  is,  generally,  only 
found  in  rainy  years  (often  not  for  five  years),  and  then  only  in 
the  months  of  June  and  July.  In  the  wide  sandy  valley  of 
Ghor,  where  afterwards  the  Israelites  wandered  for  so  long  a 
time,  there  is  none  at  all.  Besides,  it  is  nowhere  mentioned 
that  Israel  had  nothing  but  manna  in  the  wilderness.  They 
had  brought  their  flocks  and  herds  out  of  Egypt.  The  land 
poor  as  it  is,  possesses  still  some  means  of  nourishment.  Later' 
we  find  tliat  they  wished  to  buy  food  from  the  Edomites  (cf.  ch.' 
xii.  38,  ch.  xvii.  3,  ch.  xxxiv.  3;  Num.  xx.  19,  ch.  xxxii.  16: 
Dent.  ii.  6,  7).  Still  all  this  would  not  have  sufficed  to  support 
a  twentieth  part  of  the  multitude  in  the  most  fruitful  years. 
And  therefore  we  must  regard  the  miracle  from  a  .similar  point 


260  EXODUS  XVI.  1-5. 

of  view  as  the  corresponding  one  in  the  N.  T. — the  feeding  of 
the  5000  with  five  loaves  and  two  fishes — and  explain  it  as  the 
supply  of  water,  ch.  xv. — But  beyond  this  external  view  of  the 
miracle  tliere  lies  a  higher  meaning.  It  was  "  spiritual  food,"  the 
Apostle  says,  as  the  water  out  of  the  rock  was  "  spiritual  drink : " 
1  Cor.  X.  3,  4.  The  object  of  the  miracle  is  told  us  by  Moses 
himself,  Deut.  viii.  3.  Israel  should  know  that  man  does  not 
live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of 
the  mouth  of  God.  The  people  of  God  are  nourished  and  cared 
for  day  by  day  by  the  Lord  and  God  of  covenant.  This  great 
trutli,  concealed  from  the  natural  man — since  God's  providen- 
tial care  acts  through  the  creature,  and  is  thus  veiled — was  to  be 
made  known  to  Israel,  and  the  people  thus  placed  in  personal 
communion  with  the  Almighty  God  of  nature,  the  Lord  who  had 
redeemed  them  from  heathen  nature-worship.  And  so  far,  manna 
afforded  something  more  than  mere  bodily  nourishment.  The 
fathers  indeed  did  eat  manna  in  the  wilderness  and  died — it  was 
not  bread  which  by  itself  could  be  the  food  of  immortality.  But 
for  those  who  partook  of  it  in  faith,  it  was  a  veritable  channel  of 
Divine  grace — a  sacrament.  Ever  afresh  was  the  people  con- 
firmed by  this  daily,  perpetual  miracle  of  love  and  grace,  in  their 
faith  in  tlie  Creator  of  all  things,  who  needeth  not  bread  in 
order  to  support  His  people, — on  the  God  of  covenant,  v>dio  giveth 
to  His  people  all  that  they  can  need. 

Ver.  1.  Sinai. — According  to  Num.  xxxiii.  10,  they  halted  first 
at  the  Red  Sea.  They  had  passed  through  a  very  mountainous 
region,  to  the  entrance  of  what  is  now  Wady  Taibe.  Soon  after- 
wards a  broad  plain  begins,  which  stretches  almost  without  inter- 
ruption to  the  south  point  of  the  entire  peninsula,  at  present 
called  El-Kaa :  this  is  the  wilderness  of  Sin.  From  this  plain 
they  marched  into  the  mountains,  through  the  Wady  Feiran  to 
the  Wady  es-Scheikh.  This  is  the  district  where  the  manna  is 
especially  found. 

Ver.  3.   Would:  lit.,  "Who  gives  us  that  we,"  etc. 

Ver.  5.  Daihj. — Wliile  the  Lord  miraculously  provides  for 
His  people.  He  will  at  the  same  time  have  them  exercise  their 
own  diHgence.  Every  one  must  be  up  in  the  morning  as  soon 
as  the  dew  has  fallen,  and  collect  diligently.  But  He  will  at  the 
feasts,  and  at  the  assembling  of  the  Sabbath,  try  their  faith  in 
.  His  providence.     The  greedy  man,  who,  by  keeping  the  manna 


EXODUS  XVI.  10,  15,  261 

to  the  following  day,  would  save  himself  an  act  of  faith,  is  put 
to  shame.  In  all  these  miracles  is  mirrored  forth  the  mystery — • 
hidden  from  the  natural  man — of  God's  daily  dealings  in  provid- 
ing food  for  Plis  creatures. 

Ver.  10.  Appeared. — It  seems  as  though  this  appearance  of 
the  Lord  "In  the  wilderness"  is  not  without  significance.  The 
"pillar  of  the  cloud"  never  departed  from  them  by  day  (ch.  xiii. 
22).  It  guided  the  march  of  the  host — belonged  thereto.  Here 
the  Lord  appears  in  especial  glory  without  the  camp,  to  signify 
that  through  their  mvirmurings  His  presence  had  departed  from 
them — was  adverse  to  them  :  as  afterwards  the  tabernacle  is 
pitched  "  without  the  camp  "  (ch.  xxxiii.  7). 

Ver.  15.  Bread. — Manna  is  called.  In  Hcb.  and  Arabic,  Man, 
and  means,  gift,  present.  When  the  Israelites,  In  compliance 
with  the  preceding  command,  went  forth  from  their  tents,  they 
called  out  one  to  another,  as  they  had  no  name  for  it  (the  words 
may  also  be  taken  interrogatively).  Is  this  the  gift?  And 
Closes  assures  them  of  It,  with  the  explanation,  that  it  Is  the 
bread  of  God.  "  The  Israelites  give  a  proof  of  thankfulness  by 
calling  the  food  which  was  given  them  from  heaven,  Man  ;  and 
thereby  silently  condemn  their  perverse,  thankless  murmuring, 
since  It  was  so  much  better  for  them  to  collect  food  offered  to 
their  hands  than  to  procure  It  for  themselves  by  a  laborious  hus- 
bandry. But  ]\Ioses  shows  they  had  not  Inquired  concerning 
something  altogether  unknown  to  them,  but  represents  their 
notion  as  a  mixture  of  ignorance  and  knowledge.  Before  their 
eyes  was  manifested  the  power  of  God ;  yet  the  veil  of  unbelief 
hung  over  It,  that  they  did  not  behold  clearly  the  grace  promised 
to  them." — Calvin. 

Eat. — In  order  to  form  a  just  notion  of  the  miracle  here  nar- 
rated, we  must  keep  In  view  the  especial  object  of  the  bestowal 
of  the  manna ;  viz.,  to  Impress,  by  means  of  an  extraordinary 
dispensation  of  Providence,  a  lively  sense  of  God's  ordinary 
dealings  on  a  people  who  had  been  brought  up  In  a  nature-wor- 
ship, and  were  addicted  to  It.  In  the  collecting  of  the  manna, 
the  Israelites  were  made  to  de])end  partly  on  their  own  Industry 
and  care.  But  many  cases  might  occur  In  which  these  did  not 
suffice  to  provide  what  was  needful.  Want  of  skill  without  any 
fault  of  their  own,  or  delay,  or  distance,  might  allow  many  to 
collect  only  a  small  quantity.     In  these  cases  the  Divine  care  was 


2G2  EXODUS  XVI.  20,  30. 

at  lianci  to  make  all  equal :  tlie  most  favoured  did  not  collect 
any  over, — liis  utmost  industry  was  necessary  for  the  providing 
a  needful  supply  ;  and  the  least  favoured  was  not  a  whit  behind, 
— he,  too,  obtained  all  that  he  and  his  required.  This  is  a  law 
of  the  Divine  governance  generally,  but  he  alone  comes  to  under- 
stand it  who  looks  beyond  the  outward  appearance  of  things. 
The  truth,  therefore,  is  revealed  to  this  people  in  a  simple  emble- 
matic manner.  As  love  is  the  soul  of  this  Divine  law,  so  ought 
the  love  of  God  in  the  souls  of  Christians  to  make  this  the  law 
of  their  dealing  one  wnth  another. 

Ver.  20.  Wroth  ivith  them. — Step  by  step  God  puts  them  to 
the  test ;  yet  He  bears  patiently  with  them,  and  suffers  His  deeds 
to  speak  to  them.  "  To  care  for  the  morrow  brings  no  blessing 
to  the  people  of  God."  This  great  truth  God  causes  to  be 
preached  to  the  sight  and  feeling  of  His  people. 

Ver.  30.  Rested  on  the  seventh  day. — From  the  whole  account 
it  is  clear  that  the  Sabbath  had  not  hitherto  been  kept  by  the 
Israelites.  In  all  of  the  first  book  of  Moses,  we  do  not  find  any 
trace  of  its  observance.  It  is  only  when  Israel  became  a  people 
that  this  important  ordinance  of  God — so  beneficial  for  the  inner 
and  ou.tward  life  of  the  congregation  of  His  people,  and  of  such 
deep  consequence  in  the  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God — 
came  into  operation.  Still  Moses  speaks  of  the  holy  rest  of  the 
Lord  as  of  something  well  known  to  the  people.  The  tradition 
of  the  very  ancient  revelation  (Gen.  ii.  23)  still  continued  among 
them  ;  and,  dividing  their  moons  into  four  parts,  like  the  other 
nations  of  antiquity,  they  might,  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  week, 
well  remember  that  original  revelation.  But  of  a  distinct  com- 
mand, of  any  regulation  forbidding  work  on  that  day,  is  there  no 
mention.  Here  was  the  Lord  the  immediate  guide  of  His  people. 
His  direct  ordinances  regulate  their  whole  outer  life ;  and  so  was 
the  law  respecting  the  Sabbath  most  naturally  ordained  in  con- 
nection with  the  gift  of  manna.  As  work  and  diligence  were 
needful  even  in  the  obtaining  of  this  gift,  so  was  w^ork  forbidden 
on  the  Sabbath  day ;  still  in  a  way  the  most  considerate  for  this 
perverse  people, — viz.,  that  they  should  receive  a  double  supply 
on  the  sixth  day.  It  is  the  discovery  of  the  greatness  of  this  gift 
which  leads  the  rulers  to  make  the  inquiry,  and  occasions  the 
declaration  of  the  law.  All  these  circumstances  are  of  eternal 
import,  and  show  forth  a  rule  of  God's  dealings ;  for  in  them  the 


EXODUS  XVI,  31,  36.  263 

people  of  God  have  the  sure  pledge,  that  the  blessing  of  the  Lord 
will  richly  compensate  all  loss  of  labour  incurred  for  the  sake  of 
His  holy  day.  After  the  people  have  thus  learned  by  their  own 
experience  the  blessing  with  which  the  Lord  rewards  obedience 
to  His  ordinances,  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  is  solemnly  ordained 
in  the  ten  commandments,  and  the  reasons  for  its  Divine  ap- 
pointment given. 

Ver.   31.   Honey. — The  same  is  the  nature  of  the  natural 
manna. 

Ver.  36.  Ephah. — The  last  words  (ver.  32-35)  were  evidently 
not  written  on  this  occasion,  since  the  "  Testimony  "  (ver.  34) 
were  the  tables  of  the  law  in  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  which  did 
not  at  that  time  exist.  It  appears  that  the  idea  of  a  book,  con- 
taining all  the  great  events  of  the  Exodus,  very  early  presented 
itself  to  the  mind  of  Moses,  under  the  direction  of  God  (ch.  xvii. 
14,  note).  But  tliough  each  circumstance  was  at  once  recorded, 
the  arrangement  of  the  whole  might  well  be  reserved  for  times 
of  quiet.  When  this  happened,  is  doubtful :  but  that  it  did  not 
take  place  until  after  the  entrance  into  Canaan,  is  from  ver.  35 
by  no  means  necessary  to  be  supposed ;  since,  after  two  years, 
the  doom  of  forty  years'  dwelling  in  the  wilderness  is  declared 
(Num.  xiv.  34).  That  now  the  manna  was  to  be  laid  up  before 
the  Lord,  shows  that  this  miracle  is  of  eternal  import  to  the 
people  of  God.  Not  merely  are  they  reminded  thereby  of  a  re- 
markable dispensation — a  great  benefaction  from  the  Lord,  but 
rather  a  deep  principle  of  the  loving  care  of  Providence  is 
therein  made  known  for  all  times.  It  was  a  kind  of  sacramental 
covenant,  withdrawing  man  from  the  service  of  Nature,  and 
placing  him  in  living  and  blessed  communion  with  the  personal 
Lord  and  Creator  of  the  world.  The  ephah  is  as  much  as  a 
"  measure,"  metretes,  St  John  ii.  6,  which  contains  1985-77 
Parisian  cubic  inches  (according  to  Bockh  and  Bertheau)  :  the 
weight  of  an  omer,  the  tenth  part  thereof,  might  at  least  amount 
to  a  pound.  The  ephah  is  the  standard  measure  from  which 
the  reckoning  was  made.  The  statement  therefore  in  this  place, 
of  what  an  omer  is,  would  serve  to  give  to  all  times  a  notion  of 
what  Israel  had  received  at  God's  hands  in  the  wilderness. 


264  EXODUS  XVII.  1. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Ver.  1.  EepJiidim. — The  people  are  now  drawing  near  to  the 
first  great  goal  of  their  wanderings — Monnt  Sinai;  since  the 
stations  Dophkah  and  Alush  (Num.  xxxiii.  12,  13)  lie  between 
the  commencement  of  the  wilderness  of  Sin  (ch.  xvi.  1)  and 
Rephidim ;  and  Repliidim,  as  the  history  shows,  was  also  close  to 
Sinai,  perhaps  in  the  long  and  wide  valley,  Wady  es-Scheikh. 
As  here  the  people  experience  the  want  of  water,  they  tempt 
the  Lord ;  i.e.,  dissatified  with  the  proofs  of  Divine  guidance 
they  have  hitherto  received,  they  put  Him  to  the  test,  whether 
He  be  really  among  them  or  not.  All  belief  that  rests  on  evi- 
dences afltbrded  to  the  senses  is  ever  insatiable  in  its  demands. 
God  grants  them  water  out  of  the  rock,  but  at  the  same  time 
gives  them  to  understand  that  it  is  not  the  natural  rock  which 
produces  the  supply,  but  He  Himself,  the  Lord  who  went  with 
them.  The  rock  out  of  which  the  water  gushed,  is  called  "  a 
rock  in  Horeb"  (ver.  6) :  it  is  therefore  evident  that  Rephidim, 
though  a  day's  journey  from  Sinai,  must  lie  in  the  commence- 
ment of  the  range  of  hills,  as  in  these  books  the  name  Horeb  is 
given  to  the  whole  mountain  country,  of  which  Sinai  forms  a 
particular  hill.  Burckhardt  describes  this  region  (ii.  798)  :  "  We 
gradually  ascended  in  a  south-easterly  direction.  The  valley 
became  narrower.  In  a  couple  of  hours  we  came  to  a  thick 
wood  of  tamarisks,  or  tarfa  shrubs,  and  found  several  camels 
browsing  on  the  prickly  pods.  From  this  ever-green  tamarisk, 
which  gi'ows  so  luxuriantly  nowhere  in  the  peninsula  as  in  this 
valley,  is  the  manna  collected.  We  approached  now  the  heights 
of  Sinai,  which  stand  as  the  central  point  of  the  whole,  and 
which  we  had  kept  in  view  for  several  days.  These  granite 
cliffs,  6000  to  8000  feet  high,  the  surface  of  which  is  blackened 
by  the  sun,  inclose  the  passes  which  lead  to  the  elevated  plat- 
form, called  in  a  narrower  sense  Sinai.  The  cliffs  shut  in  the 
holy  mountain  on  three  sides,  and  leave  open  to  sight  only  the 
north  and  north-eastern  sides  towards  the  Gulf  of  Akaba.  On 
either  side  of  the  tamarisk  forest  there  runs  a  ranjve  of  lower 
hills,  formed  of  a  material  which  looks  like  white  clay.  After 
the  lapse  of  three  hours,  we  reached  the  above-mentioned  cliffs 


EXODUS  XVII.  2-8.  265 

tliroiigli  a  narrow  defile  of  granite  rock,  about  40  feet  wide. 
In  a  broad  part  of  the  pass  is  shown  an  isolated  rock,  some  five 
feet  hio;h,  forminn;  a  sort  of  natural  seat.  This  is  named  "  Closes' 
Seat."  Farther  up  the  valley  widens,  the  mountains  recede  from 
the  path  on  both  sides,  and  the  Wady  es-Scheikh  penetrates  yet 
more  into  the  height,  in  a  southerly  direction.  In  the  neigh- 
bourhood lies  the  well  Abu-Szuehr,  and  not  far  from  this  a  wide 
open  plain  surrounded  by  low  hils." 

To  drinh. — They  had  just  left  the  fruitful  and  well-watered 
AVady  Feiran.  Some  water,  indeed,  is  now  found  there ;  but 
without  the  extraordinary  blessing  of  the  Lord,  all  the  water  of 
the  wilderness  had  been  totally  insufficient  for  the  great  multi- 
tude. As  Jesus,  after  He  had  been  miraculously  sustained 
without  food  for  forty  days  in  the  wilderness,  "  afterwards  hun- 
gered," so  did  the  Lord  permit  in  this  case  a  time  of  trial  to  suc- 
ceed a  time  of  plenty. 

Ver.  2.  Give  us  loater. — Moses  and  Aaron  were  both  ad- 
dressed, because  the  latter  in  ]\Ioses'  name  was  spokesman  to  the 
people. 

Ver.  5.  Before. — In  the  face  of  the  danger  which  threatened. 

Yer.  6.  Stand. — Probably,  as  at  all  times,  in  a  cloud.  This 
took  place,  for  a  visible  proof  that  it  was  the  Lord's  power  which 
caused  the  water  to  gush  out. 

Ver.  8.  A  malek. — The  nations  around,  especially  tlie  Fdomites 
and  the  Philistines,  had  heard  Avitli  terror  and  astonishment  of 
the  mighty  acts  of  the  Lord  in  Egypt  (ch.  xv.  14,  15),  and  none 
had  ventured  to  assail  Israel.  But  the  Amalekites  (an  Edomitish 
nomadic  tribe,  Gen.  xxxvi.  12-1 G),  who  had  wandered  from 
Mount  Seir  (1  Chron.  v.  42,  43),  in  South  Palestine  (Gen.  xiv. 
7)  and  the  Petreau  peninsula,  at  that  time  in  the  flower  of  their 
vigour — ''the  first  of  the  nations"  (Num.  xxiv.  20),  undertook, 
in  reliance  on  their  own  strength,  to  attack  the  people  of  the 
Lord.  They  were  animated  with  the  same  jealousy  and  hosti- 
lity against  a  people  nearly  connected  with  them  by  descent,  as 
afterwards  we  shall  perceive,  though  in  a  less  degree,  was  the 
case  Avith  the  Edomites,  and  were  certainly  under  apprehen- 
sion that  they  would  at  some  time  be  brought  into  subjection  to 
Israel :  Gen.  xxvii.  29.  Here  begins  with  the  people  of  God  a 
new  and  important  series  of  events.  Hitherto  the  Lord  had 
fought  for  them,  and  they  had  remained  still  (ch.  xiv,  14) ;  but 


2{^(i  EXODUS  XVII.  9-12. 

now  Avere  tliej,  though  in  reliance  on  the  might  and  presence  of 
Godj  and  in  constant  dependence  on  Him,  to  learn  themselves  to 
fight  and  to  conquer.  This  was  a  hotly  contested  fight ;  and,  as 
in  all  such  cases,  the  result  was  for  a  time  uncertain.  It  was 
only  the  banner  raised  by  Moses,  and  the  faith  in  this,  which  at 
length  overcame  all  opposition.  The  memory  of  this  wonderful 
and  significant  event  was  perpetuated  by  an  altar  set  up  on 
account  of  it,  and  by  the  first  command  of  writing  a  memorial 
in  the  book  of  this  histor}'.  At  the  same  time,  also,  the  judgment 
is  recorded  against  the  sin  of  this  people,  which  henceforth  is 
destined  to  be  "  utterly  put  out  of  remembrance ;"  which  doom 
was  by  degrees  accomplished  on  them :  Deut.  xxv.  17-19  ; 
1  Sam.  XV.  2,  3,  etc. ;  1  Chron.  iv.  43. 

Ver.  9.  Joslma. — A  foreshadowino;  of  his  future  election  to 
be  the  leader  of  the  people  of  God :  as  yet  we  have  not  heard 
that  he  was  the  servant  of  Moses.  His  human  talent  for  com- 
mand, as  well  as  his  faith  and  reliance  on  God,  are  here  to  be 
exercised. 

Mine  hand. — It  is  not  related  that  Moses  held  up  his  hands  in 
the  posture  of  one  praying ;  rather,  he  held  up  one  arm,  and 
raised  on  hio;h  the  M'onder-working  rod  as  a  banner  for  the 
people  in  battle.  In  ordinary  human  battles,  the  banner  is  the 
rallying  point  of  the  army,  and  the  sight  of  it  a  continual  stimu- 
lus to  hope  (as  Isa.  v.  26,  ch.  xi.  12,  and  other  places,  show)  : 
in  like  manner  was  this  sign  to  be  a  pledge  to  the  Israelites  of 
the  wonder-worldng  presence  of  God. 

Ver.  11.  Let  dovm. — The  natural  weakness  of  the  servant  of 
the  Lord  must  become  apparent,  that  the  might  of  God  may  in 
him  and  through  him  be  more  glorified. 

Ver.  12.  One  side:  exchanging  hands — now  one  hand,  now 
the  other,  being  held  up. 

Going  doicn. — Although  this  sounds  like  a  mere  appeal  to  the 
outward  senses,  and  as  if  the  banner  raised  on  high  had  gained 
the  victory  as  by  a  charm,  yet  we  must  always  bear  in  mind  that 
the  people  at  that  time  required  outward  signs,  in  order  for 
them  to  realise  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  We  nowhere  after- 
wards read  of  such  a  banner;  and  yet  the  people  fought  and 
gained  victories  through  the  Lord,  just  as  they  received  food  and 
drink  in  Canaan  without  the  manna  and  the  water  from  the 
rock.     The  Lord  bestowed  His  blessing,  in  the  first  instance, 


EXODUS  XVII.  14-lG  ;   XVIII.  1,  2.  207 

Avitliout  requiring  unconditional  faith  from  the  people,  or,  at 
least,  without  making  His  miraculous  help  to  depend  on  this 
faith.     It  is  otherwise  in  tlic  N.  T. :  St  Matt.  viii.  10,  note. 

Ver.  14.  In  a  hook. — llcb.,  in  the  book.  From  this  it  is  evi- 
dent that  already  the  recording  of  the  great  events  of  the  people 
of  God  had  begun  (perhaps  first  with  the  hymn  of  trium})h, 
ch.  XV.) ;  although  it  is  not  said  that  Moses  at  that  time  com- 
posed the  book  we  now  possess,  paragraph  after  paragraph. 

Joshua. — As  the  future  leader. 

Ver.  15.  JelLovali-Nissi. — Moses  continues  the  custom  of  the 
patriarchs  (Gen.  xii.  7)  until  the  mode  of  worship  is  instituted 
for  the  people.  The  name  of  the  altar  expresses  accurately  the 
purport  of  the  whole  history. 

Ver,  16.  Generation. — Heb. :  "Because  he  hath  laid  his  hand 
on  the  throne  of  the  Lord,  therefore,"  etc.  The  throne  of  the 
Lord  is  among  His  people,  or,  rather,  is  His  people  itself. 
Amalek  wished  to  put  it  to  the  proof,  whether  the  living  God 
really  was  King  of  this  people.  Thei'efore,  because  he  has 
attacked  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord,  the  Lord  fights  against  him 
even  to  his  extermination. 


CHAPTER  XVHL 

Ver.  1.  Jethro. — We  find  in  Jethro  a  servant  of  the  true 
God  not  belonging  to  Israel :  of  such,  since  the  time  of  the 
patriarchs,  there  were  still  some,  though  they  were  fewer  and 
fewer.  Still  he  can  scarcely  be  supposed  to  have  kept  the  wor- 
ship of  God  quite  unmixed  with  heathen  errors.  For  such  men 
as  these,  were  the  mighty  deeds  shown  by  God  to  His  people  a 
strengthening  of  their  faith.  So  we  find  here  a  communion 
with  a  stranger  in  the  worship  of  God,  such  as  does  not  again 
occur. 

Ver.  2.  Sent  hack. — He  had  sent  her  back  home,  as  we  here 
find,  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  Egyptian  plagues  ;  perhaps 
because,  as  an  alien,  he  did  not  fully  confide  in  her  firm  adherence 
to  the  communion  of  the  people  of  God,  which  was  so  needful  to 
make  her  fit  to  bo  a  companion  in  the  Exodus. 


268  EXODUS  XVIII.  3-U. 

Ver.  3.  Strange  land. — Cf.  ch.  ii.  22. 

Ver.  4.  Sivord  of  Pharaoh. — The  name  of  the  second  son  is 
here  mentioned  for  the  first  time;  perhaps  because  only  now  the 
full  meaning  of  the  name  had  received  a  fulfilment. 

Ver.  7.   Tent;  i.e.,  of  Moses:  cf.  Gen.  xii. 

Ver.  11.  Lord. — Jehovah. 

Proudly. — The  Lord  has  proved  His  might  in  overruling  the 
tyranny  and  oppression  of  the  Egyptians  upon  the  Israelites. 
We  perceive  in  this,  that  Jethro  was  under  the  influence  of  a 
heathen  mode  of  viewing  the  matter,  Avhich  regarded  the  subjec- 
tion of  a  whole  people  by  another  as  a  mark  of  the  weakness  of 
its  God.  Now,  on  the  contrary,  had  he  seen  that  never  had  any 
God  done  such  wonderful  things  for  the  preservation  of  his 
people  as  had  been  done  for  Israel.  Jethro  scarcely  worshipped 
God  under  the  name  Jehovah,  which  is  not  found  among  the 
descendants  of  Abraham,  the  Arabs;  but  he  might  so  speak* to 
Moses  of  the  true  God,  Avhom  he  honoured  after  the  manner  in 
which  He  had  been  revealed.  Nay,  more  :  he  was  also  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  feeling  of  His  glory,  and  clave  to  His  service, 
not  without  blessed  consequences  for  the  future. 

Ver.  12.  Burnt-offering. — The  "  burnt-offerings"  (of  which 
we  shall  speak  more  fully  afterwards)  were  entirely  burnt :  in 
them  the  meaning  of  atonement  was  the  prevailing  one.  The 
"sacrifices"  were,  without  doubt,  thank-offerings,  part  of  which 
was  consumed  by  fire,  part  was  eaten, — in  later  times,  by  the 
priests  and  the  persons  sacrificing. 

Before  God. — A  great,  solemn  sacrificial  meal  was  prepared, 
as  a  common  public  thanksgiving  for  their  preservation. 

Ver.  14.  He  said. — The  counsel  of  a  man  who  did  not  him- 
self belong  to  the  people  of  the  covenant  leads  to  an  institution 
which,  in  the  after-development  of  the  Israelitish  constitution,  was 
of  considerable  importance.  Since  the  Lord  Himself  was  King 
of  His  people,  and  Moses  His  sole  immediate  vicegerent,  the 
whole  governing  power  must,  under  God,  be  in  his  hands. 
Greatly  as  Moses,  in  all  that  he  did,  enjoyed  the  blessing  of  the 
Divine  guidance,  still  by  degrees  a  distinction  must  come  in 
between  what  he  did  at  God's  immediate  command,  and  what  he 
made  known  according  to  the  general  measure  of  light  afforded 
him.  By  this  means  the  office  of  lawgiver  M'onld  distinguish 
itself  from  that  of  judge.     This  was  now  effected  by  the  advice 


EXODUS  XVIir.  19-23  ;   XIX.  269 

of  a  prudent,  sensible  man,  who,  perhaps,  thereby  first  brouoht 
home  to  Moses'  mind  the  fact  of  this  distinction. 

Vcr.  19.  Godxcard. — In  all  the  things  in  which  there  is  no 
Divine  decision  made  known,  and  in  wliich  no  man  can  decide, 
there  stand  thou  before  God  for  the  people. 

Ver.  21.  Able  men,  of  unimpeachable  character. 

Rulers  of  tens. — By  this  api)ointment  there  was  formed  among 
the  people  an  office  independent  of  the  patriarchal  mode  of 
government.  These  judges  were,  as  we  see  fi'om  Deut.  i.  13, 
chosen  out  of  the  people,  placed  before  Moses,  and  by  him  in- 
ducted into  their  office  ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  are  there  called 
"heads  of  the  tribes" — i.e.,  generally,  fathers  of  families.  More- 
over, in  this  election  regard  was  especially  had  to  the  chiefs  of 
the  families ;  yet,  as  the  choice  was  regulated  according  to  per- 
sonal qualifications,  the  order  of  rank  by  birth  was  no  more  deci- 
sive. The  electors  in  the  tribes  and  in  the  particular  divisions 
were,  without  doubt,  the  heads  of  families.  That  the  officers 
are  appointed  in  relation  to  numbers  merely,  and  not  to  propertv, 
was  owing  to  the  fact  that  Israel  in  the  wilderness  was  a  military 
constitution.  It  is  evident  in  Canaan  these  circumstances  were 
changed.  But  even  in  this  division  according  to  numbers,  the 
family  constitution  was  not  without  its  infiuence,  which  is  here 
not  mentioned,  as  being  a  sufficiently  well-known  fact. 

Ver.  23.  In  peace. — Every  one  will  go  to  his  house  satisfied. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

From  Rephidim,  on  the  fore-mountains  of  Horeb,  the  people 
proceed  a  day's  march  into  the  wilderness  of  the  Sinaitic  range, 
which  forms  the  centre  of  the  whole  peninsula.  The  wonderful 
granite  formation  of  hills,  with  its  variety  of  strange  shapes,  wild, 
abrupt  ])eaks,blackencdby  the  sun — with  its  lovely,  well-watered, 
and  fertile  valleys  abounding  in  fruit, — has  three  summits  in  par- 
ticular wliich  have  obtained  great  note.  The  two  front  ones  are 
the  northern  and  southern  extreme  points  of  a  ridge  of  hills  be- 
tween two  valleys,  AVady-Shueib  and  Wady  el-Ledscha :  the 
northern  point,  situated  on  the  table-land,  now  called  Iloreb, 


270  EXODUS  XIX. 

rises  steep  and  rocky  to  a  height  of  12,000  to  15,000  feet ;  by 
the  side  of  this  runs  the  valley  Wady-Shueib,  in  which  is  the 
celebrated  monastery  of  Mount  Sinai,  lying  in  a  lovely  oasis. 
Almost  due  south  of  this  lies  the  now  called  Dschebbel  Musa 
(Plill  of  Moses),  generally  regarded  as  the  ancient  Sinai,  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  lofty  ridge  :  on  the  flattened  top  there 
is  a  small  mountain  valley.  South-west  from  thence  lies  the  St 
Catherine  hill,  the  highest  point  of  the  peninsula,  more  than 
8000  feet  high.  From  recent  researches  there  seems  to  be  no 
doubt  that,  of  the  three  celebrated  points,  the  more  prominent 
northern  one,  now  called  Horeb,  and  particularly  the  heights  of 
it,  at  present  named  Eas  Sufsafeh,  may  be  regarded  as  the 
mount  of  the  givino;  of  the  law.  In  front  of  this  mountain  is 
extended  a  valley  of  about  two  miles  in  length,  and  in  some 
places  one  in  breadth,  adjacent  to  which  are  other  wide,  broad 
valleys.  Arriving  from  the  north-west,  the  approach  is  through 
a  wild  desolate  pass.  The  interior  higher  peaks  of  the  great 
circle  of  Sinai — black,  wild,  desolate  ridges — are  seen  in  front : 
at  every  step  the  dark  threatening  cliffs  of  Sinai.  The  valley 
widens  and  gradually  ascends,  environed  by  wild,  jagged,  granite 
rocks  and  peaks  :  then  is  extended  before  the  eyes  of  the  travel- 
ler, on  the  elevation  where  the  streams  separate,  a  lovely  wide 
valley,  shut  in  by  rough,  solemn-looking,  dark  granite  hills,  naked 
cliffs,  and  ridges  of  indescribable  sublimity  :  some  distance  behind, 
the  boldly  precipitous  wall  of  Horeb.  "  The  scene  around," 
says  Robinson,  "  was  a  glorious  and  sublime  one,  altogether  un- 
expected, and  such  as  we  had  never  witnessed.  He  proceeds  to 
say  :  "  The  great  difficulty,  and  even  danger,  in  the  ascent  to  the 
Ras-Sufsafeh  (the  rocky  summit  of  Horeb),  was  amply  repaid 
by  the  view  which  opened  upon  us.  The  whole  plain  land,  er- 
Rahah,  with  its  adjacent  wadys  and  mountains,  lay  stretched 
before  our  feet ;  while  to  the  right  Wady  es-Scheikh,  and  to  the 
left  the  bend  towards  the  Ledscha  valley,  both  joined  with  the 
table-land,  and  running  out  from  it  to  a  considerable  distance, 
almost  doubled  the  whole  tract.  Here,  or  on  one  of  the  adja- 
cent cliffs,  was  the  place  where  the  Lord  descended  with  fire, 
and  proclaimed  His  law.  Here  lay  the  plain  where  the  whole 
people  could  be  assembled ;  here  stood  the  mountain  which 
could  be  approached,  which  could  be  touched,  if  it  were  not  for- 
bi  den  ;  here  was  the  mountain-top  where  the  lightning  and  the 


EXODUS  XIX.  1-5.  271 

thick  cloud  were  visible,  and  the  thunder  and  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet  could  be  heard,  when  the  Lord  came  down  in  the  sight 
of  all  the  people  on  Mount  Sinai."  Consequently,  the  whole 
mountain-range  is  called  in  Holy  Scripture  Horeb ;  as  even  a 
day's  journey  from  Sinai,  at  Rephidim,  mention  is  made  of  the 
"  rock  in  Horeb,"  ch.  xvii.  6.  But  Sinai  must  be  the  mountain 
which  rises  immediately  above  the  table-land,  now  called  Horeb ; 
since,  from  the  Mount  of  Moses,  which  is  commonly  called 
Sinai,  it  is  impossible  to  see  any  part  of  the  valley,  as  it  is  con- 
cealed by  the  intervening  heifjlits  of  Horeb. — Before  the  Lord 
proclaims  His  law.  He  makes  a  solemn  covenant  with  His  people. 
He  offers  to  be  their  King  and  Lord ;  and  if  they  will  be  His 
people,  they  shall  become  a  kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy  people. 
Moses  is  commissioned  to  declare  this  to  the  people,  and  to 
bring  back  their  assent.  Then  follow  the  sublime  preparations 
for  the  giving  of  the  law. 

Ver.  1.  Same  day. — The  word  "  month"  is  in  the  Heb.,  pro- 
perly, "  renewing," — namely,  of  the  moon  :  new  moon,  because 
with  every  new  moon  the  month  began.  On  the  first  day, 
therefore,  of  the  third  month  they  arrived,  about  six  weeks  after 
the  Passover.  According  to  Jewish  tradition,  the  giving  of  the 
law  commenced  on  the  sixth  day  of  this  month. 

Wilderness  of  Sinai — The  wider  and  more  extended  valleys 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  mountain. 

Ver.  3.  Mountain. — As  the  mountain  now  called  Horeb  has 
several  peaks,  Moses  probably  ascended  the  mountain-ridge,  and 
heard  the  Lord  speak  to  him  from  one  of  the  heights.  Doubt- 
less the  pillar  of  the  cloud  stood  on  the  mountain,  and  afforded 
there  the  sign  of  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 

Children  of  Israel. — The  repetition  of  the  synonymous  terms, 
"  House  of  Jacob,"  "  Children  of  Israel,"  prefaces  a  solemn 
address. 

Ver.  4.  Eagles^  wings. — When  danger  threatens  the  young 
ones,  or  when  they  cannot  as  yet  fly,  the  eagle  will  take  them  on 
her  strong  wings  and  support  them  :  Deut.  xxxii.  11. 

Ver.  5.  All  the  earth. — These  words  point  out  how  God's 
choice  of  the  people  of  Israel  is  founded  on  His  right  of  posses- 
sion over  the  whole  earth.  And  hereby  the  heathen  notion  of 
a  God  whose  power  is  confined  to  His  own  land  and  people,  is 
entirely  removed  from   the   minds   of  the  Israelites.     As   the 


272  EXODUS  XIX.  G-13. 

Almighty  power  is  declared  to  the  whole  earth,  so  has  it  been  to 
the  Egyptians.  At  the  same  time,  an  intimation  is  afforded  that 
the  peculiar  privileges  of  Israel  stand  in  relation  to  the  salvation 
of  the  whole  world.  If  God  be  Lord  of  the  whole  earth,  and 
yet  chooses  for  Himself  a  peculiar  possession  before  all  other 
nations,  He  can  only  have  His  object,  in  doing  so,  to  care  for  the 
welfare  of  all  through  this  chosen  people. 

Ver.  6.  Kingdom  of  priests. — God  first  calls  Himself  the  King 
of  His  people,  and  establishes  Israel  to  be  His  peculiar  domi- 
nion. He  calls  the  whole  people  "  priests,"  as  selected  from  the 
whole  of  mankind  for  His  especial  service,  and  to  bring  salvation 
to  all  men  ;  at  the  same  time.  He  reminds  Israel  of  the  particular 
end  of  its  existence  as  a  people,  which  consists  in  the  service  of 
the  true  God.  Other  people  had  received  other  gifts,  and  were 
destined  for  other  purposes;  but  Israel  had  no  other  destiny 
than  first  to  preserve  alive  on  earth,  and  next  to  spread,  the 
knowledge  and  worship  of  the  true  God. 

Holy  nation. — Cf.  Deut.  vii.  6,  ch.  xxvi.  18.  "  Holy,"  in 
Holy  Scripture,  always  includes  the  idea  of  separation  from  what 
is  common  and  unclean,  "  and  the  surrender  to  God  and  His 
service."  In  the  O.  T.  the  more  external  signification  appears  to 
prevail,  of  being  dedicated  to  the  outward  service  of  God.  But 
as  this  outward  service  of  God  bore  a  continual  reference  to  the 
inward,  the  express  relation  of  the  holiness  of  the  people  to  the 
holiness  of  God,  Lev.  xi.  44,  ch.  xix.  2,  which  is  represented  as 
the  direct  opposition  to  all  that  is  evil  (Ps.  v.  5),  alone  explains 
the  perfect,  entire  meaning  of  the  expression. 

Ver.  8.  Returned. — He  went  back  to  the  mountain,  as  the 
people's  ambassador  for  the  solemn  making  of  the  covenant. 
The  uttering  of  the  words  is  afterwards  mentioned.  There  was 
no  need  that  God  should  learn  through  Moses  what  the  people 
had  spoken  ;  but  this  was  a  great  and  solemn  act  of  covenant,  at 
which  each  party  must  distinctly  express  the  conditions  under 
which  the  covenant  was  concluded. 

Ver.  10.  Sanctify. — Let  them,  by  putting  away  all  that  is  un- 
clean, and  by  bodily  purification,  place  themselves  unto  that  posi- 
tion of  holy  reverence  Nvhich  they  owe  to  the  Divine  Alajesty. 
Clothes. — Even  the  clothes — much  more  themselves. 
Ver.  13.  Shot  through. — As  an  offender,  he  has  become  liable 
to  the  Divine  anger ;  so  that  even  by  touching  every  one  has 


EXODUS  XIX.  15-19.  273 

sinned  or  committed  defilement. — In  all  this  the  awfulness  of 
the  Divine  law  is  revealed  to  man.  "  The  mountain  of  Sinai 
shows,  and  God  through  the  mountain,  what  the  heart  feels 
when  the  law  is  laid  open  to  it,  and  it  is  touched  by  the  judg- 
ment of  God.  Since,  like  as  the  Israelites  saw  lightning,  thun- 
der, smoke,  earthquake,  so  that  their  heart  stood  still  as  if  they 
should  now  die — they  had  no  other  image  than  death  before 
their  eyes, — so  also  does  a  heart  left  to  itself  regard  God  as  an 
executioner  and  jailor.  None  other  than  Christ  can  raise  it  up, 
whom  I  must  know  as  a  finend  and  brother,  and  be  able  to  say  to 
God,  '  Lord,  I  know  no  one,  neither  in  heaven  nor  on  earth, 
in  whom  I  may  have  consolation  and  confidence  than  Thyself 
through  Christ.'  " — Luther. 

Trumpet. — Heb. :  "  By  the  blowing  of  the  trumpet ;"  lit., 
"  by  the  sounding  of  the  jobel "  (cornet),  which  last  word  signi- 
fied a  horn,  by  which  a  loud  protracted  sound  could  be  pro- 
duced. A  note,  therefore,  such  as  a  war-trumpet  sends  forth, 
and  which  in  the  valleys  of  the  lofty  mountains  would  cause  a 
fearful  reverberation,  accompanied  the  appearance  of  the  light- 
ning, making  its  sound  to  be  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
thunder. 

To  the  mount. — There  is  an  emphasis  on  "  tliey.^''  These 
words  cannot  relate  to  the  people,  who  were  forbidden  to  touch 
the  mount :  they  appear,  therefore,  to  refer  to  the  "  elders," 
mentioned  ver.  7,  who  do  ascend  (cli.  xxiv.  1)  the  height  of  the 
mountain-ridge  where  Moses  receives  the  tables. 

Ver.  15.  Wives. — In  like  manner  as  Moses  w\as  commanded 
to  take  off  his  shoes  on  Horeb,  must  that  act  be  omitted,  which 
at  other  times  is  permitted,  nay,  commanded  by  the  Lord,  in 
order  that  the  soul,  free  from  the  influence  of  the  senses,  may 
occupy  itself  entirely  with  the  holy  manifestation  now  granted  : 
1  Sam.  xxi.  4. 

Ver.  18.  Furnace ;  i.  e.,  as  if  the  whole  mountain  had  been  a 
burning  furnace. 

Ver.  19.  Voice;  i.e.,  in  thunder.  We  are  either  to  suppose 
that  they  were  words  sounding  like  thunder,  yet  distinctly 
uttered,  or  that  it  was  an  answering  sign  from  God.  The  latter 
is  the  more  probable,  as  it  is  not  told  to  us  what  INIoses  and  what 
God  spake.     Perhaps  they  were  the  words  of  the  covenant  mcn- 

oned  before,  ver.  9,  joined  with  the  prayers  of  Moses. 

S 


274  EXODUS  XIX.  21-24. ;   XX. 

Ver.  21.  Perish. — The  meaning  of  this  fresh  prohibition  is,  no 
doubt,  to  exalt  the  holiness  and  majesty  of  the  law  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people ;  but  at  the  same  time  to  show  God's  mercy  to- 
wards a  stiflFnecked  and  rebellious  nation.  Whose  love  willed 
not  that  on  the  solemn  day  of  the  giving  of  the  law  any  judg- 
ment should  fall  upon  them. 

Ver.  22.  Priests. — The  mention  of  "  priests"  before  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Aaronic  priesthood  is  very  remarkable.  Some  have 
thought  that  here  was  meant  the  priestly  dignity  of  the  first- 
born ;  but  of  this  nothing  elsewhere  is  said.  Below,  at  ch.  xxiv. 
5,  young  men  are  mentioned  who  offered  sacrifices ;  above,  it  is 
said  of  the  elders  that  they  should  go  up  to  the  mount  with 
Moses  (ver.  13).  It  seems,  that  in  connection  with  the  dignity 
of  the  elders,  something  resembling  the  priesthood  at  that  time 
existed  among  the  people  of  Israel,  though,  in  what  it  consisted, 
we  cannot  more  particularly  determine.  Those  elders  who,  as 
priests  at  that  time,  drew  near  to  the  Lord,  were  not  to  suppose 
that  they  were  at  all  pure  in  God's  sight,  and  needed  no  sanctifi- 
cation.  They  themselves  also  must  undergo  the  same  emble- 
matic purification  as  the  people. 

Ver.  24.  Break  forth. — If  the  priests  are  the  same  as  the  elders, 
ver.  13,  this  may  be  reconciled  by  supposing  that  they  came 
nearer  than  the  people,  and  yet  were  not  permitted  to  ascend  to 
the  highest  point. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Before  any  particular  law  is  given  to  the  people  of  the  cove- 
nant, the  Lord  puts  before  them  in  the  ten  commandments, 
afterwards  written  on  two  tables  of  stone,  a  summary  of  His  will. 
In  the  form  in  which  most  of  them  are  conveyed — "  Thou  shalt 
not,"  and  also  in  the  word,  "  Remember,"  with  which  the  Sab- 
bath commandment  begins — we  may  perceive  how  God,  through 
the  law,  speaks  to  a  sinful  people,  which  could  render  submission 
to  His  \\ill  only  by  an  inward  struggle  against  its  own.  We 
see  how  the  main  object  of  the  law  was  to  lead  to  the  knowledge 
of  sin.  But,  at  the  same  time,  the  task  is  imposed  on  the  people 
of  gathering  from  everything  which  is  forbidden,  that  which  is 


EXODUS  XX.  275 

commanded,  and  which  is  really  the  groundwork  of  the  prohibi- 
tion, as  afterwards  in  the  law  they  are  led  to  understand. 

The  commandments  are  divided  into  two  main  heads.  The 
first  contains  the  duties  towards  God ;  the  second,  those  towards 
our  neighbour  :  the  first  comprised  in  the  precept,  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart ;"  the  second,  in  that, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  To  the  first  part,  as 
to  the  second,  there  belong  five  commandments.  For  so  did  the 
Jews  in  the  time  of  Christ  consider  them  to  be  divided,  as 
Josephus  tells  us  (3,  5,  8) :  "  He  showed  to  them  the  two  tables  on 
which  were  written  the  ten  commandments,  on  each  five."  And 
therefore  the  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself 
any  graven  image,"  has  been  unreasonably  regarded  by  a  part  of 
the  Christian  Church  as  a  portion  of  the  first  commandment.  And 
likewise  the  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  honour,"  etc.,  which 
is  looked  on  as  belonging  to  the  second  table,  containing  the  duties 
to  our  neighbour,  really  belongs  to  the  first,  since  it  speaks  of 
our  parents,  not  of  our  neighbour  ;  it  speaks  of  those  who  have 
authority  over  their  children  as  God's  representatives,  and  who 
de'mand  honour  by  reason  of  this  sacred  relationship,  but  do  not 
seek  respect  as  part  of  the  duty  man  owes  to  his  neighbour. 

According  to  this  general  division,  we  now  perceive  how  the 
first  two  commandments  of  the  first  table  have  regard  to  the 
honour  due  to  God  in  general;  the  third  inculcates  obedience  to 
Him  in  word  ;  the  fourth  and  fifth,  obedience  in  deed.  The  fifth 
forms  a  point  of  transition  to  the  second  table,  by  speaking  of 
the  honour  paid  to  God  in  the  person  of  His  representatives 
.  among  men.  The  second  table  then  speaks  of  the  duties  towards 
God's  image — our  neighbour.  The  expression  "neighbour"  is 
derived  from  that  childlike  relationship  in  which  the  people  of 
the  covenant  stood  to  God  :  therefore  is  every  one  "  the  neigh- 
bour," i.e.,  literally,  fellow,  com])anion,  friend  of  the  other,  be- 
cause all  stand  in  the  same  relationship  to  God.  The  first  com- 
mandment of  the  second  table  speaks  of  wrong  done  to  one 
neighbour  by  injury  inflicted  on  himself,  on  his  person  ;  the 
second  and  third,  on  injury  by  deed  on  his  wife,  on  his  property ; 
the  fourth,  of  injury  done  to  our  neighbour  by  word  ;  the  fifth, 
by  sinful  desire.  In  all  these  commandments  (this  is  particu- 
larly observable  if  we  compare  heathen  laws  with  them)  every 
duty  is  regarded  directly  as  in  reference  to  God,  and  proceeds 


276  EXODUS  XX. 

from  the  relationship  towards  Him.  There  is  no  trace  of  the 
threatening  of  punishment  from  the  magistrate,  nor  of  the  ad- 
vantage of  obedience  to  God  for  temporal  purposes.  On  the 
contrary,  while  this  law  formed  the  groundwork  of  the  whole 
pohtical  constitution  of  the  people,  it  will  become  perfectly  clear 
to  us,  that  the  object  of  all  the  other  commandments  was  to 
bring  these  ten  commandments  to  bear  on  every  particular  of 
daily  life.  As  the  Lawgiver  Himself  is  a  Spirit,  and  holy,  so  are 
all  these  commandments  holy,  and  to  be  understood,  not  accord- 
ing to  the  letter  only,  but  after  a  spiritual,  moral,  and  inward 
sense.  No  doubt  the  prohibition  proceeds  by  gradation  from 
"  Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  to  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet,"  and  in  the 
first  three  commandments  of  the  second  table,  acts  are  especially 
spoken  of;  but  at  the  same  time  that  the  prohibition  goes  on 
from  deed  to  word,  and  from  word  to  desire,  it  is  quite  clear  that 
murder  is  not  to  be  understood  merely  as  the  outward  act,  but  is 
regarded  in  its  inmost  root — in  hatred,  and  anger,  and  envy — as 
an  oifence  against  God.  In  like  manner,  every  unchaste  act  is 
forbidden  as  the  beginning  of  adultery,  as  the  first  expression 
of  the  sinful  propensity.  So  covetousness,  before  it  proceed  to 
theft,  as  its  inward  cause,  is  forbidden.  The  flagrant,  open 
transgression  of  the  commandment  is  expressly  forbidden ;  and 
thence  it  became  gradually  clear  that  every  other  smaller  or 
more  secret  transgression  was  therein  included,  while  the  pro- 
hibition of  the  more  secret  sins,  as  the  root  of  the  open  ones, 
would  have  made  a  far  less  living  and  sensible  impression.  The 
amplification  of  the  ten  commandments,  in  the  laws  which  follow, 
shows  also  clearly  to  the  rude  understanding,  in  how  deep  a 
sense  they  are  to  be  received.  Thus  the  Lord  gave  in  these 
"  ten  words,"  to  an  uncivilised  people,  nearly  sunk  in  the  dark- 
ness of  heathenism,  the  first  outlines  of  a  holy  law,  which  the 
eternal  Son  of  God  Himself  did  not  annul,  but  fulfil — which  He 
has  not  even  exceeded,  since  He  quotes  the  two  great  command- 
ments on  which  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets,  and  which 
form  the  fomidation  of  the  two  tables,  in  the  very  words  of  the 
Mosaic  law  itself:  St  Matt.  xxii.  37-39.  And  in  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  even,  He  only  removes  the  barrier  which  circum- 
scribed laws  given  during  the  time  of  nonage. — The  law  is 
usually  distinguished  as  the  moral,  the  ritual  or  ceremonial,  and 
the  civil  law  ;  and  it  is  assumed  that  the  two  latter  parts  of  the 


EXODUS  XX.  277 

Mosaic  law  were  abrogated  by  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
but  the  first  not  so,  and  that  this  first  part  is  contained  in  the 
ten  commandments,  which  are  therefore  permanent  and  binding 
on  Christians,  even  to  the  most  minute  detail.  But  such  a  dis- 
tinction is  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  law  itself.  Even  in  the  ten 
commandments  something  of  a  ritual  character  is  contained,  as 
in  the  law  respecting  the  Sabbath ;  and  likewise  the  great  prin- 
ciple of  civil  legislation  for  the  Israelites,  which  consists  in  the 
covenanted  relationship  of  the  people  to  Jehovah,  is  declared 
therein.  On  the  other  hand,  the  ritual  law  is  not  full  of  arbi- 
trary chance  ordinances  ;  but  all  its  injunctions  embody  those 
relations  of  the  people  to  God,  which  have  their  foundation  in 
the  ten  commandments.  And  even  in  the  remarkable  civil  con- 
stitution of  Israel,  in  those  limits  which  it  imposes  on  the  law, 
we  still  see  the  deepest  expressions  of  the  moral  law  confirmed. 
Thence  is  deduced  a  very  important  principle  for  the  right 
understanding  of  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament.  In  the  same 
sense  that  the  law  has  not  been  destroyed  but  fulfilled  by  Christ, 
has  the  ritual  and  civil  law  of  the  Israelites  not  been  destroyed ; 
but  in  the  same  sense  that  these  have  been  annulled,  has  the  law 
of  the  ten  commandments  also  been  annulled.  The  purpose  of 
the  ritual  law,  as  also  of  the  ritual  precepts  in  the  ten  command- 
ments, was,  in  the  first  place,  to  teach  by  signs  and  actual  observ- 
ances, at  a  time  when  teaching  by  language  was  not  under- 
stood ;  in  the  next  place,  by  means  of  these  emblems  and  usages, 
all  of  which  referred  to  Jehovah  as  King,  to  instil  into  the  minds 
of  the  whole  people  the  feeling  that  every  relation  of  life,  every 
movement  of  nature,  every  detail  of  human  intercourse,  placed 
them  in  constant  dependence  on  God,  and  by  means  of  this  feel- 
ing to  separate  them  widely  from  their  heathen  neighbours  and 
from  everything  heathen ;  and  lastly,  the  object  was,  by  the  un- 
satisfactoriness  of  all  mere  outward  service,  by  the  burdensome- 
ness  of  all  these  typical  and  preparatory  observances,  to  point  to 
"  the  fulness  of  time."  What  the  law  said  in  word,  this  the 
observances  and  external  rites  exjiressed  in  figure  :  the  taber- 
nacle, the  priests,  the  sacrifices,  the  laws  about  outward  purity 
and  purification,  declared  in  a  more  diffuse  manner,  and  in  the 
language  of  that  time  and  people,  the  eternal  truths  whicli  the 
ten  commandments  briefly  utter,  and  which  other  laws  more 
minutelv  enunciate.     But  as  little  as  a  Christian  is  commanded 


278  EXODUS  XX. 

to  address  God  only  in  the  words  of  the  Psahns,  is  he  bidden  to 
speak  always  in  this  language  of  sign  and  emblem.     They  are 
the  shadows  of  things  to  come — the  substance  is  in  Christ.     But 
how  marked  was  the  outward  distinction  between  the  Israelites 
and   the   heathen  nations   occasioned  by  this  ritual  law,   the 
ancient  heathens  themselves  attest ;   as,  for  example,  the  Roman 
historian  Tacitus  (Hist.  5,  4)  :  "  Moses,  in  order  that  he  might 
secure  the  people  to  himself  for  the  time  to  come,  gave  to  them 
novel  customs,   and  such   as  are   opposed  to  all  other  mortal 
practices.     With  them  all  is  profane  which  is  considered  holy 
among  ourselves  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  is  permitted 
among  them  which  is  forbidden  with  us.     Thus  they  have  in- 
troduced circumcision  in  order  to  make  themselves  easily  re- 
cognisable by  means  of  the  distinction."     The  same  testimony 
is  borne  by  the  counsellors  of  King  Antiochus  Sidetes  (Diodorus, 
34,  2)  :  "  They  alone  of  all  men  wished  to  live  without  com- 
munion  with  any  other  people ;    they  regarded  all  others  as 
enemies;  they  desired  to  have  laws  quite  opposed  to  those  of 
other  people ;  they  would  not  eat  with  them,  nor  show  them  any 
act  of  kindness."     Those  of  the  ten  commandments  which  have 
a  most  intimate  connection  with  the  civil  law  are  extremely  re- 
markable.    In  them  the  eternal,  Divine  law  of  the  covenant  is 
the  groundwork ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  law  circumscribes 
this  principle  during  the  time  of  nonage,  and  thereby  declares 
its  own  merely  preparatory  character.     The  grand  principle  of 
the  civil  law  of  the   Israelites  is  this :    the  Lord   Jehovah   is 
supreme  King  and  Lord  of  the  people  and  of  their  land ;  He,  to 
whom  the  whole  world  belongs,  has  chosen  this  people  for  His 
service  and  possession.     This  principle  had  the  greatest  influence 
on  all  their  civil  relations.     So,  in  matter  of  personal  right,  did 
an  equality  prevail  of  all  the  children  of  covenant  before  God. 
While  of  the  slaves  the  ancient  Roman  laws  say,  "  We  find 
among  all  people,  without  distinction,  that  the  master  has  power 
of  life  and  death  over  his  slave,  and  that  all  which  the  slave 
earns  belongs  to  the  master,"  both  these  marks  of  slavery  were 
unknown  in  Israel.     "  They  are  My  servants,  which  I  brought 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt :  they  shall  not  be  sold  as  bondmen  :" 
Lev.  XXV.  42.     "  If  thy  brother  be  sold  unto  thee,  thou  shalt  not 
compel  him  to  serve  as  a  bondservant :  "  Lev.  xxv.    39.     Cf. 
Exod.  xxi.  20,  26,  27 ;  Lev.  xxvii.  1-8,  ch.  xxv.  49  ;  2  Sam. 


EXODUS  XX.  279 

ix.  And,  therefore,  the  same  distinction  of  rank  did  not  exist 
among  them  as  with  other  ancient  nations.  At  the  same  time 
we  see  certain  restrictions  in  the  Law  itself,  by  which  it  clearly 
declared  that  slavery  should  continue,  and  the  slave  had  only  the 
possibility  of  being  freed  on  the  sabbatical  year — yet  could  he, 
by  a  certain  legal  form  and  expression,  become  a  slave  for  ever. 
Although  the  whole  people  were  a  kingdom  of  priests  to  the 
Lord,  yet  there  existed  a  priestly  class  exclusively  regulated  by 
birth.  But  the  most  surprising  of  all  is,  that  the  law  had  fore- 
seen the  establishment  of  the  kingly  dignity  in  Israel :  Deut. 
xvii.  14. — The  original  institution  (Gen.  ii.  18,  etc.)  so  defined 
the  nature  of  a  proper  marriage  as  to  exclude  polygamy  and 
divorce  ;  and  marriage  was  hallowed  by  being  an  image'  of  the 
communion  betwixt  God  and  His  people.  Moses,  while  in 
his  first  book  he  records  the  institution  of  marriage,  permits, 
but  restricts,  the  power  of  divorce,  and  places  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  polygamy. — Jehovah  is  the  supreme  possessor  of  the 
whole  land :  this  is  the  great  principle  of  the  law  of  property. 
Strictly  speaking,  there  is  no  actual  possession  of  property  :  the 
land  is  the  Lord's — all  Israelites  are  in  the  relation  of  strangers 
and  guests,  Lev.  xxv.  23  ;  hence  it  followed  that,  properly,  they 
could  never  sell  the  land,  but  only  the  produce  for  a  certain 
time.  In  the  fiftieth  year  all  property  of  land  reverted  to  its 
original  owners,  to  whom  the  Lord  had  apportioned  it.  Herein 
is  therefore  declared  the  principle  of  eternal  Divine  Right,  that 
in  the  kingdom  of  God  every  man  is  only  God's  steward,  to  ad- 
minister His  goods  for  Him  and  His.  But  as  sin  has  made  men 
selfish,  so  must  there  exist  by  the  side  of  the  Divine  right  a 
temporal,  formal  right,  the  needful  limit  of  the  Divine  law  among 
sinful  men  ;  and  this  right  the  law  sanctions  in  the  command, 
"  Thou  slialt  not  steal ;"  while  the  sabbatical  year  and  the  year 
of  jubilee,  by  their  peculiar  regulations,  reminded  men  of  God's 
supreme  right  of  possession.  Even  in  respect  to  the  law  of  debts, 
the  same  ruling  principle  is  expressed  in  the  prohibition  of  usury : 
"  If  thou  lend  money  to  any  of  My  jjeojyle,  thou  shalt  not  be  to 
him  an  usurer:"  Exod.  xxii.  25.  To  the  same  purpose  was  the 
release  of  all  debts  in  the  fiftieth  year.  In  respect  to  the  penal 
law,  the  principle  of  retribution  and  retaliation  is  that  on  which 
every  punishment  rests.  Yet  the  retaliation  must  come  from 
God  at  the  hands  of  His  representative,  the  magistrate  :  Deut. 


280  EXODUS  XX.  2. 

xxxii.  35.  But  even  here  the  right  of  revenging  blood  remained, 
as  belonging  to  a  rude  and  infant  state  of  society,  though  the 
right  was  circumscribed  by  many  limitations. — Among  crimes, 
those  against  God  stand  at  the  head.  Idolatry,  therefore,  is 
treason.  It  assails  the  state  of  God  at  its  foundation ;  and  w.as 
therefore  punished  b}''  stoning,  Deut.  xvii.  2  :  and  for  the  same 
reason  were  blasphemy,  false  prophesying.  Sabbath-breaking, 
and  witchcraft  punished.  In  a  similar  way  were  crimes  against 
God's  vicegerents  treated  :  so,  to  blaspheme  God,  and  to  curse 
an  elder,  stand  together  (ch.  xxii.  28).  The  judges  are  called 
"  gods,"  or  deity.  David  dreads  to  lay  his  hand  on  the  Lord's 
anointed  :  1  Sam.  xxiv.  5,  etc.  To  strike  parents,  to  curse 
them,  nay,  to  withstand  them,  are  crimes  punishable  with  death. 
The  punishment  for  murder  is  inflicted,  because  it  is  a  violation 
of  the  image  of  God :  Gen.  ix.  6.  For  the  same  reason,  the 
dishonouring  God's  image  in  others  by  sins  of  uncleanness,  is 
visited  with  the  heaviest  punishment.  Death  was  also  the 
punishment  for  incest,  by  which  the  sanctity  of  the  family  bond, 
and  so  the  respect  due  to  parents,  was  destroyed. — In  all  this,  it 
is  shown  how  the  whole  civil  law  was  nothing  else  than  a 
carrying  into  practical  effect  of  the  moral  law.  The  distinction 
of  sins  and  of  crimes,  which  of  course  has  a  certain  propriety, 
was  nowhere  made,  because  every  Israelite,  from  his  birth,  and 
in  virtue  of  an  outward  compulsion,  was  a  child  of  God's  cove- 
nant. But  everywhere  are  shown  in  the  law  itself  the  restric- 
tions and  limitations  placed  upon  it  in  this  particular,  chiefly,  that 
Israel  was  severed  as  a  peculiar  people  from  all  others,  and  to 
this  people  alone  was  confined  that  which,  by  the  rules  of  justice, 
was  intended  for  other  men.  Divested  of  these  restrictions  and  of 
the  mere  outward  motives,  the  law  is  still  valid  every  whit  of  it ; 
and  the  main  principles,  in  every  particular  of  the  law,  are  those 
which  hold  good  for  ever  among  all  Christian  people. 

Ver.  2.  /  am ;  or,  more  correctly,  "  I,  Jehovah,  am  thy  God." 
In  the  introductory  words,  God  distinguishes  Himself  with  the 
great  name,  "  I  am," — begins  with  the  promise  and  assurance 
that  He  is  the  God  of  covenant,  the  God  of  Israel. 

Brought  thee. — Every  covenant  of  God  with  man  commences 
with  some  benefit,  which  He,  out  of  pure  grace,  has  conferred  on 
him.  God  bestows  before  He  requires.  He  never  reaps  where 
He  has  not  first  abundantly  sown.     He  here  reminds  them,  not 


EXODUS  XX.  3,  4.  281 

of  the  benefit  which  was  most  recent  and  most  vividly  in  tlieir 
memory,  but  of  tliat  connected  with  the  covenant  made  with 
their  fatliers,  whereby  Israel  became  a  people — the  people  of  God. 
This  blessing  of  redemption  was  not  merely  a  type  of  the  greatest 
of  all,  the  redemption  through  Christ  from  the  bondage  of  sin, 
but  the  latter  is  contained  in  the  former,  as  the  flower  in  the 
blossom ;  therefore  the  Christian  docs  not  attach  any  strange 
meaning  to  the  commandment  when  he  paraphrases  the  words  : 
"  Who  have  redeemed  thee,  through  My  only  Son,  from  the 
power  of  sin,  death,  and  the  devil." 

Ver.  3.  A'^o  other  gods. — Heb. :  "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other 
God  before  My  countenance."  Every  word  is  here  of  weight. 
"  Before  the  countenance  of  the  Lord,"  reminds  us  not  only  of 
His  all-seeing  eye,  but  speaks  of  the  defiance,  the  deliberate  in- 
sult offered  to  the  gracious  and  merciful  Saviour  by  the  sin  of 
idolatry.  In  this  first  commandment  is  the  unity  of  the  true 
God  most  absolutely  maintained.  The  heathen  worship  of 
Nature  never  led  to  the  notion  of  such  unity.  It  distracted  the 
tnist,  the  reverence,  of  men  into  different  directions,  according  as 
the  thirsting  heart  of  man  in  proportion  to  its  hopes  and  longings 
sought  for  peace  and  satisfaction,  but  in  vain.  A  kind  of  unity 
of  the  many  gods— Fate,  or  the  all-producing,  all-absorbing 
Nature — could  awaken  no  love,  no  confidence.  It  was  itself 
without  consciousness.  But  the  one,  the  living  God,  could  do 
this;  and  therefore  this  prohibition  is  one  and  the  same  with 
the  first  and  chief  commandment,  Deut.  vi.  4,  5  ;  or,  as  Luther 
well  expresses  it,  the  purport  of  the  first  commandment  is,  "  We 
must  fear,  love,  and  trust  God  above  all  things."  And  in  his 
Great  Catechism,  "  What  is  the  meaning  of,  '  To  have  one  GodT 
To  have  one  God,  is  to  rely  on  Him  for  every  good  thing,  to 
have  recourse  to  Him  in  every  need ;  so  that  to  have  one  God, 
is  nothing  else  than  to  trust  and  believe  in  Him  with  all  the 
heart.  For  that  on  which  thy  heart  hangeth,  and  to  Avhich  it 
trusteth,  is  thy  God." 

Ver.  4.  Under  the  earth. — This  command  does  not  merely  re- 
peat what  Avas  said  before,  but  adds  to  it  something  besides. 
Israel  was  not  allowed  to  make  any  image  of  God,  cither  of  the 
true  or  of  the  false.  In  after  times  there  occurred  two  gra- 
dations in  the  people's  apostasy :  first,  the  worship  of  the  true 
God  under  an  image,  as  especially  the  worship  of  the  calf  in  the 


282  EXODUS  XX.  4. 

wilderness,  and  afterwards  by  Jeroboam  in  the  kingdom  of 
Israel ;  next,  the  worship  of  false  gods — of  Baal,  of  Astoreth. 
Before  all  is  the  "  Image" — i.e.,  a  graven  or  molten  idol — men- 
tioned, as  the  usual  mode  of  idolatry  :  however,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent every  evasion,  it  is  added,  "  nor  the  likeness  of  anything." 
This  command  had  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  religion  of 
Israel  from  becoming  a  worship  of  Nature,  which  first  honours 
God  under  the  form  of  some  creature,  and  then  loses  in  Nature 
the  idea  of  Him,  and  itself  altogether. — "  In  heaven"  alludes 
to  the  worship  of  the  sun  and  stars  ;  "  on  earth,"  to  that  of  men 
and  beasts ;  "  in  the  water,"  to  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
water,  the  objects  of  worship  in  Egypt ;  "  under  the  earth" 
means  the  water,  because  it  lies  deeper  than  the  land,  as  in 
French  one  says,  "  A  town  lies  on  the  sea,  on  a  river."  We  find, 
indeed,  that  afterwards  God  caused  the  cherubim  in  the  sanc- 
tuary to  be  made  ;  but  these  images  were  an  actual  defence 
against  idolatry,  as  the  meaning  of  them  was  to  show  how  the 
very  highest  powers  in  Nature  were  entirely  subject  to  God, 
and  that  He  Himself  is  enthroned  above  them  in  invisible,  in- 
comparable Majesty.— Every  representation  of  God,  in  Chris- 
tianity even,  which  would  visibly  exhibit  God,  "  who  dwelleth 
in  light  that  no  man  can  approach  unto,"  1  Tim.  vi.  16;  but, 
above  all,  everything  which  would  degrade  the  Creator  of  all, 
who  is  exalted  above  all  Nature,  to  a  level  with  Nature,  and 
which,  in  anything  whatever,  honours,  not  God's  work,  but  God 
Himself,  is  absolutely  forbidden  in  this  commandment.  So  long, 
therefore,  as  there  is  danger  of  God's  holy,  invisible  essence 
being  dishonoured  by  any  image  or  likeness,  and  of  the  creature 
being  honoured  instead  of  the  Creator,  so  long  may  we  appeal 
to  this  commandment  against  any  such  error.  Of  a  different 
character  are  the  representations  of  the  God-man  Jesus  Christ, 
in  whom  God  Himself  has  taken  human  nature,  and  who  has 
become  for  us  the  Visible  Image  of  the  Invisible  God.  Luther 
says  :  "  I  know  for  certain  that  God  wills  that  man  should  hear 
and  read  His  works,  especially  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  But  if 
I  must  hear  and  consider  them,  it  is  impossible  but  that  I  should 
form  in  my  heart  images  thereof;  since,  whether  I  will  or  no, 
wdien  I  hear  Christ,  there  is  traced  in  my  heart  a  human  figure 
which  hangs  on  the  cross :  if  it  be  not  sinful,  but  right,  for  me 
to  have  an  image  of  Christ  in  my  heart,  why  should  it  be  a  sin 


EXODUS  XX.  G-11.  283 

when  I  have  His  image  before  my  eyes  ?"  Here  only  begins 
the  sin  :  when  in  any  sense  there  is  ascribed  to  the  image  a 
Divine  power — a  power  of  communicating  salvation,  and  so  it  is 
itself  honoured  as  Divine.  But  when  there  is  no  danger  of  this 
kind,  then  are  images,  even  in  sacred  places,  a  proper  expression 
of  Christian  devotion. 

Ver.  6.  Keep  My  commandments. — The  threat  and  the  promise 
are  directly  connected  with  tliat  command  which  the  Israelites 
were  most  tempted,  and  which  it  was  most  dangerous  for  them, 
to  break.  In  general,  it  is  said,  God's  grace  extends  much 
fiu'ther  than  the  chastisements  of  His  justice.  But  the  declara- 
tion, that  the  fathers'  transgressions  should  be  visited  on  the 
children,  has  its  reason  in  that  unity  which  existed  in  families  in 
old  times  much  more  than  at  present.  It  is  not  said  that  the 
innocent  children  shall  suffer  for  their  parents'  sins ;  for  the  con- 
trary is  most  expressly  declared,  Ezek.  xviii.  20.  But  the  awful- 
ness  of  the  sin,  as  of  the  punishment  which  descends  from  father 
to  son,  is  pointed  out.  At  the  same  time,  such  outward  chastise- 
ments are  here  meant,  which  continue,  even  where  the  conver- 
sion of  the  children  has  changed  them  into  a  blessing :  as,  for 
example,  it  has  been  observed  that  the  leprosy,  one  of  the  most 
fearful  visitations  in  the  East,  usually  is  transmitted  to  the  third 
and  fourth  generation. 

Ver.  7.  The  name. — Literally :  "  Not  bring  to  a  lie,"  not 
utter  for  that  purpose.  This  is,  therefore,  in  the  first  place, 
directed  against  all  false  swearing.  But  Christ  shows,  by  His 
explanation,  that  therein  is  contained  a  prohibition  of  all  swear- 
ing, so  far  as  it  proceeds  from  ourselves  ;  since,  from  man's  natural 
proneness  to  falsehood,  it  may  easily  happen  that  in  every 
self-imposed  oath,  taken  in  a  light-minded  manner,  a  lie  may 
be  sworn  to.  And  next,  since  without  naming  God's  name, 
every  "  yea"  is  spoken  in  His  presence,  and  ought  to  have 
equal  weight  with  an  oath.  The  explanation  of  Christ  is  con- 
tained in  this  commandment ;  but,  for  the  time,  hidden  from 
view  by  the  outward  mode  of  its  delivery. 

Ver.  11.  Hallowed  it. — Cf.  Gen.  ii.  3,  note.  Hitherto  there 
had  been  given  to  the  people  no  express  command  concerning 
the  Sabbath ;  and  there  appears,  so  far,  no  trace  of  this  day  being 
hallowed.  Only  in  respect  to  the  manna  Avas  the  people  re- 
minded of  the  institution  of  that  day  by  a  Divine  act  (ch.  xvi. 


284  EXODUS  XX.  12. 

5,  etc.).  But,  as  the  history  of  the  creation  lived  in  the  minds 
of  the  generations  who  feared  the  Lord,  so  there  would  surely 
be  some  honour  paid  to  this  day.  The  present  embodying  of  this 
command  about  the  Sabbath  in  the  laws  of  the  covenant,  was 
of  the  utmost  significance.  It  was  expressly  declared,  and  by  a 
continued  ordinance  kept  in  mind,  that  the  God  who  had  brought 
Israel  out  of  Egypt  was  the  Creator  of  the  whole  world.  The 
sanctification  of  the  Sabbath  preserved  Israel  from  all  heathen 
Avorship,  and  from  all  superstitious  notions  that  they  reverenced 
a  mere  national  God  like  the  other  people.  Hence  the  great 
weight  which  is  again  and  again  laid  on  this  Divine  command ; 
hence  the  name  "  sign"  and  "  covenant,"  which  is  given  to  the 
Sabbath  (ch.  xxxi.^  13-15;  Ezek.  xx.  12;  cf.  Neh.  ix.  14). 
Hence  the  dishonouring  of  the  Sabbath  appears  as  a  sin  of 
apostasy  from  God  (Ezek.  xxii.  8,  ch.  xxiii.  38).  Of  what  is  of 
temporary  andwdiat  of  perpetual  obligation  in  this  command,  we 
have  already  spoken  on  the  institution  of  the  day. 

Ver.  12.  Giveth  thee. — Parents,  as  God's  representatives,  are 
here  invested  with  an  honour  above  all  other  men ;  for  while  we 
are  to  "love"  our  neighbour,  we  are  commanded  to  "honour" 
our  parents.  They  are  to  be  regarded  not  as  persons  who,  for 
certain  definite  temporal  objects,  are  invested  for  a  time  with  a 
power  over  their  children,  to  nourish  and  foster  them,  but  as  per- 
sons who  administer  an  office  from  God,  carry  out  His  will,  com- 
mand in  His  name, — as  persons,  therefore,  from  whom  children 
are  to  receive  the  first  impression  of  the  governance  of  the  Lord 
of  the  world  and  the  Father  of  men.  As  the  constitution  of  the 
Israelitish  people  and  its  different  membership  entirely  rested  on 
the  patriarchal  form,  this  commandment  enforces  the  duty  of 
reverence  to  those  in  authority,  as  well  as  to  parents.  Hence 
all  that  is  said  elsewhere  of  "  elders,"  of  "  the  rulers  of  the 
people,"  belongs  to  this  commandment :  ch.  xxii.  28.  The  pro- 
mise of  long  life  in  the  land  which  God  should  give,  is  now, 
that  the  whole  earth  has  become  the  land  of  God's  kingdom,  to 
be  understood  of  every  kind  of  earthly  blessing.  "  Even  for  the 
Israelites,  long  life  in  that  land  was  not  in  itself  a  blessing,  but 
only  so  far  as  it  was  a  pledge  of  Divine  grace.  Therefore,  if  God 
early  removes  from  this  life  an  obedient  son,  He  is  no  less  mind- 
ful of  His  promise  than  if  He  had  given  an  hundred  acres  of 
land  to  every  one  to  whom  He  had  promised  one.     All  depends 


EXODUS  XX.  13,  u.  285 

on  our  understanding  that  a  long  life  is  promised  us,  so  far  as  it 
is  a  blessing  of  God  :  but  it  is  a  blessing  so  far  as  it  is  a  pledge 
of  grace ;  and  this  God  can  often  accord  more  richly  and  more 
certainly  to  Ilis  servants  in  their  death,  which  leads  to  eternal 
life."— Calvin. 

Ver.  13.  Kill. — Every  kind  of  killing  is  not  here  meant,  as 
the  magistrate  puts  to  death,  and  in  war  an  enemy  is  justly 
killed,  and  in  a  later  place  express  mention  is  made  of  uninten- 
tional killing.  The  Hebrew  expression  is  the  appropriate  one 
for  intentional  killing  of  another  with  malicious  purpose.  The 
true  reason  for  this  prohibition  is  expressed.  Gen.  ix.  6,  viz. : 
because  our  neighbour  is  the  image  of  God ;  with  which  must  be 
joined  what  is  said,  ch.  ix.  5  :  because  our  neighbour  is  our 
brother.  And  it  follows  naturally,  from  the  reason  on  which 
this  prohibition  is  built,  that  it  is  equally  commanded,  that  "  the 
preservation  of  our  brother  should  be  to  us  as  our  own."  What- 
ever assails  his  life,  assails  ours  :  his  well-doing  is  ours. 

Ver.  14.  Commit  adultery. — Literally  taken,  this  command 
enjoins : — "  The  marriage  of  thy  neighbour  shall  be  esteemed 
holy  by  thee  :  thou  shalt  not  have  any  unchaste  communication 
with  his  wife."  It  belongs  to  the  narrowness  of  the  law  in  the 
time  of  nonage,  to  understand  under  adultery  in  the  O.  T.  only 
an  offence  with  a  wife — not  that  of  a  husband  with  an  unmarried 
woman.  In  the  rude  sensual  view  taken  of  mamage,  the  crime 
of  the  wife  appeared  of  so  much  more  heinous  character,  as  the 
consequences  for  the  family  were  more  important.  Thus  also, 
in  Homer,  is  the  chastity  of  Penelope  lauded,  while  the  repeated 
adulteries  of  Ulysses  are  mentioned  with  unconcern,  as  some- 
thing quite  indiiferent.  This  is  suitable  to  a  state  of  things  in 
which  divorce  lay  at  the  option  of  the  husband,  and  was  not  re- 
garded as  adultery.  But  Christ  shows,  in  this  latter  example, 
what  is  to  be  understood  by  adultery,  by  referring  to  the  original 
institution  of  marriage  ;  and  explaining  that  every  breach  of  the 
marriage-contract,  as  well  as  every  unchaste  act,  was  either  itself 
adultery,  or  prepai'ed  the  way  to  adultery.  From  this  point  of 
view,  we  may  perceive  why  the  law  of  Moses  was  more  opposed 
than  any  other  law  of  ancient  times  to  every  kind  of  harlotry, 
and  put  obstacles  in  the  way  of  divorce  and  polygamy.  In  this 
prohibition  also  Is  contained  the  command  to  hold  mamage  as 
sacred.     And  the  reason  of  the  prohibition  is  this, — that  mar- 


286  EXODUS  XX.  15,  16. 

riage  is  not  an  union  for  a  short  time,  for  the  gratification  of 
carnal  lust,  or  the  procreation  of  children  ;  but,  as  the  creation 
of  the  woman  out  of  the  man  shows,  is  an  union  of  the  whole 
life,  for  the  training  up  of  the  images  of  God,  the  heirs  of  His 
kingdom,  and  shadows  forth  the  union  of  love  betwixt  God  and 
His  creatures.  Hence,  clearly,  all  that  follows  whereby  this 
imion  is  a  continual  exercise  of  love,  humility,  patience,  and 
hope.     All  this  the  command  of  marriage  tells  us. 

Ver.  15.  Steal. — As  the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  no  one  besides 
Him  can  be  in  a  full  sense  the  owner  of  his  possession.  Yet  is 
this  possession  lent  by  God  :  it  is  His  holy  appointment,  and  no 
mere  human  invention,  which  can  be  done  away  with  at  man's 
pleasure.  Accordingly,  that  which  He  has  so  lent  on  earth 
ought  to  be  holy  and  inviolable  in  our  eyes,  as  He  has  granted 
each  a  portion  of  His  goods  in  stewardship :  cf.  Lev.  vi.  2. 
This  view  would  be  most  promoted  and  kept  alive  if  each  man 
did  not  say  of  his  goods,  "  It  is  mine,"  but,  because  it  is  God's, 
would  resign  part  of  it  cheerfully  for  the  sake  of  others.  Both 
duties  are  contained  in  this  commandment :  to  have  respect  for 
that  which  belongs  to  another — to  hold  light  by  our  own. 

Ver.  16.  False  tvitness. — This  command  is  far  too  much 
limited,  if  we  suppose  (which  the  words  by  no  means  authorise) 
that  in  it  is  simply  contained  a  defence  of  our  neighbour's  good 
name.  Eveiy  injury  inflicted  on  our  neighbour  is  forbidden, 
by  the  utterance  of  any  falsehood  concerning  him,  whether  it  be 
to  the  damage  of  his  honour,  or  of  his  substance,  or  intentional 
deceit.  The  deeper  view  of  the  command  teaches  us,  that  every 
intentional  deceiving  of  our  neighbour,  though  with  a  kind  pur- 
pose, in  order  to  help  him — every  so-called  lie  of  necessity  out  of 
love  to  him — still  does  really  do  him  an  injury,  since  it  destroys 
the  reverence  for  truth,  the  confidence  of  fellowship  between  man 
and  man,  and  the  open  interchange  of  Divine  gifts  and  benefits. 
Only  a  false  code  of  morals,  which  sees  man's  highest  good  in 
momentary,  temporal  welfare,  can  maintain  the  lawfulness  of 
lying  for  the  benefit  of  others,  or  out  of  so-called  necessity,  since 
the  law  of  truthfulness  and  of  charity  are  essentially  one  and  the 
same.  Therefore,  this  commandment  enjoins  full,  entire,  un- 
equivocal truthfulness  towards  our  neighbour  in  every  relation, 
although  the  practical  understanding  of  its  meaning  was  very 
imperfectly  attained  to  in  the  O.  T.,  where  we  find  that  so  many 


EXODUS  XX.  17-21.  287 

servants  of  God  allow  themselves,  in  their  perplexities,  to  have 
recourse  to  lying,  which  the  Word  of  God  narrates,  but  never 
excuses, 

Ver.  17.  Thy  neighhoui'S. — Neither  in  the  word  "  covet,"  nor 
in  anything  else,  is  there  the  slightest  hint  which  should  lead  us 
to  suppose  that  by  "  coveting  "  is  meant  anything  else  than  a 
purely  inward  desire.  Even  the  other  commandments  cannot  be 
fulfilled  by  an  external  obedience  only.  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill," 
includes  likewise.  Thou  shalt  not  be  angry,  shalt  not  hate,  as  the 
seed  of  the  evil ;  and  so  on  with  the  rest.  But  it  is  a  matter  of  great 
moment  to  observe,  that  here  the  evil  desire  is  itself  expressly 
declared  to  be  a  sin,  not  only  inasmuch  as  it  leads  or  can  lead 
to  an  act,  but  also  simply  in  itself.  Envy,  which  grudges  another 
man  his  life,  the  impure  desire,  the  greediness  of  gain,  the  in- 
ward insincerity — even  though  they  should  not  be  strong  enough 
to  break  out  into  acts,  or  should  be  hindered  by  circumstances 
from  doing  so — are  sins.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  purely  in- 
voluntary bad  thought.  All  such  spring  from  the  ground  of  a 
corrupt  heart.  They  proceed  from  the  inward  desire  to  be  free 
from  God's  laws,  and  to  follow  their  own  desire  or  vainglory. 
Even  the  evil  thoughts  and  desires  which  are  roused  in  us  by 
outward  circumstances,  or  inspired  by  the  devil,  are  sparks 
which  fall  continually  on  prepared  tinder.  This  last  command- 
ment is  really  the  keystone  of  the  whole  law  of  the  ten  com- 
mandments, and  so  St  Paul  quotes  it  (Rom.  vii.  7)  as  the  main 
idea  of  all  that  is  prohibited.  Those  Israelites,  therefore,  whose 
eyes  God  had  enlightened,  must,  through  this  commandment, 
have  felt  their  hearts  filled  with  a  longing  desire  and  prayer  for 
"a  clean  heart:"  Ps.  li.  12. 

Ver.  19.  Lest  we  die. — The  awful  character  of  the  outward 
signs  was  calculated  to  impress  on  the  minds  of  the  people  the 
unapproachable  holiness  of  the  Lawgiver,  and  the  greatness  of 
the  punishment  which  would  befall  all  those  who  broke  His  com 
raandments.  So  the  people  now  feel  the  need  of  a  mediator  be- 
tween themselves  and  God  ;  and  in  this  confession  is  expressed 
the  most  entire  submission  to  all  which  Moses,  in  the  name  of 
God,  might  reveal  to  the  people.  Thus  the  purpose  of  the  Lord, 
mentioned  ch.  xix.  9,  was  attained. 

Ver.  21.    Where  God  was. — The  feeling  of  awful  dread,  which 
had  seized  even  Moses  on  the  first  apparition  of  God  to  him 


288  EXODUS  XX.  23-25. 

(ch.  iii.  6),  appears  here  entirely  to  have  left  him,  as  we  find 
afterwards  (ch.  xxxiii.  18)  that  he  made  the  bold  request  that 
God  would  show  him  His  glory.  Something  was  revealed  in 
the  manner  of  the  Lord's  appearing,  which  bridged  over  the 
mighty  gulf  that  lies  between  the  sinful  creature  and  the  holy 
Creator — some  especially  great  and  encouraging  assurance  of 
His  fiivour. 

Ver.  23.  Gods  of  silver. — The  setting  up  of  the  golden  calf 
afterwards,  shows  how  the  people,  on  having  been  constituted 
into  an  independent  community,  was  seized  with  an  inclination 
to  act  like  the  other  nations,  and  so  to  have  a  visible  national 
god  at  their  head  as  leader.  The  establishment  of  the  first  king 
proceeded  from  a  similar  wish :  1  Sam.  viii.  20.  The  Lord 
reminds  the  capricious  people  of  the  deep  impression  which  His 
appearing  had  made  on  them,  distinguishes  Himself  from  all 
gods  worshipped  by  idols,  and  forbids  every  mode  of  service 
which  was  calculated  to  degrade  His  nature  to  a  likeness  to  the 
creature. 

Ver.  24.  Bless  thee. — The  word  "  altar  "  is  in  the  Hebrew 
"  place  of  sacrifice.*'  A  temporary  large  heap  of  earth  was  to 
serve  for  the  first  requirements  of  sacrifice.  But  with  respect  to 
the  more  precise  regulations  which  should  afterwards  be  given, 
it  is  expressly  determined  that  it  does  not  depend  on  the  material, 
whether  the  altar  is  of  wood  or  of  stone,  but  on  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  which  commands  the  people  to  make  mention  of  Him  in 
such  a  place,  and  on  the  obedience  of  faith  which  follows  the 
bidding  of  the  Lord. 

Ver.  25.  Polluted. — The  altar  in  the  fore- court  of  the  taber- 
nacle was  made  of  wood,  with  wooden  staves  overlaid  with  brass, 
the  interior  of  the  framework  being  filled  with  earth.  The  altar 
in  Solomon's  Temple  was  entirely  of  brass:  2  Chron.  iv.  1. 
After  the  captivity,  and  in  the  time  of  the  JNIaccabees,  as  we 
learn,  1  Maccabees  iv.  45,  47,  the  altar  in  the  Temple  was  of 
unhewn  stones,  probably  because,  without  express  Divine  com- 
mand, they  did  not  wish  to  depart  from  the  command  here 
given.  The  same  was  the  case  with  the  altar  in  Herod's  Temple. 
Properly,  then,  every  altar  ought  to  have  been  made  of  earth, 
and  the  wood  or  brass  plates  were  only  the  framewoi'k  into  which 
the  earth  was  heaped.  If  it  was  made  of  stones,  these  must  be 
unhewn,  that  they  might  resemble  earth  as  much  as  possible. 


EXODUS  XX.  2G  ;   XXI.  289 

Probably  the  reason  why  the  sacrifice  was  to  be  ofFered  on  an 
altar  of  earth,  or  of  stone  resemblini^  earth,  was  this — because 
such  altars  were  erected  for  the  offering  of  burnt  sacrifices  to  do 
away  sin  ;  and  sin,  which  was  committed  on  earth,  was  on 
earth  likewise  to  be  atoned  for.  With  the  rising  up  of  the 
smoke  of  sacrifice  from  the  earth,  was  represented  the  surrender 
of  the  earthly  man  to  the  heavenly  King,  in  order  that  God's 
will  might  be  done  in  earth  as  in  heaven.  It  was  somewhat 
different  in  respect  to  the  golden  altar  of  incense  in  the  sanctu- 
ary. The  lifting  up  of  the  knife  on  the  stones,  therefore,  pollutes 
them,  inasmuch  as  a  main  idea  and  chief  emblem  in  the  sacri- 
ficial service  is  thereby  lost,  and  a  mere  arbitrary  employment  of 
human  art  takes  its  place. 

Ver.  26.  Discovered. — A  law  of  extreme  bodily  purity  and 
modesty,  as  an  emblem  of  inward  purity ;  therefore,  also,  the 
command,  cli.  xxviii.  42. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

From  ch.  xxiv.  4,  7,  we  see  that  all  the  laws  from  this  chap, 
as  far  as  ch.  xxiii.  19,  and  the  promise  which  follows,  were  an 
explanatory  supplement  to  the  ten  commandments,  and  there- 
fore the  groundwork  of  the  whole  legislation  of  the  covenant. 
In  the  laws  which  now  follow  there  is  no  exact  order  observed  ; 
only  they  fall  into  certain  divisions,  in  which  ten  appear  gener- 
ally to  go  together,  after  the  pattern  of  the  ten  commandments. 
It  is  very  possible  that  the  questions  which  came  before  Moses, 
when  he  sat  in  judgment,  or  when  appeals  were  made  to  him, 
and  the  particular  necessities  of  the  people  at  the  time,  might 
have  occasioned  the  promulgation  of  these  several  laws.  But 
yet,  together  with  such  laws  as  might  be  peculiarly  wanted 
in  the  wilderness,  are  ever  connected  others  which  have  a  more 
general  application,  and  which  meet  every  conceivable  case  ;  so 
that  everywhere  the  marks  of  the  Spirit  are  to  be  found,  which 
embraced  in  one  view  both  the  present  and  future  destinies  of 
the  people. — The  first  division  treats  of  laws  which  concern  the 
slaves  and  Israelites.     Slavery  was  in  all  ancient  nations  a  com- 

T 


290  EXODUS  XXI.  2,  4. 

mon  and  acknowledged  right,  as  we  find  the  case  with  Abra- 
ham, Gen.  xii.  5  (Heb.).  The  ancient  Romans  regarded  it  as  a 
national  right ;  i.e.,  as  an  institution  common  to  all  people.  The 
Mosaic  law  found  this  relation  of  master  and  slave  existinxr 
among  the  Israelites,  and  a  fourfold  manner  in  which  persons 
became  slaves  :  by  war,  by  purchase,  voluntary  surrender,  and 
birth.  All  the  change  which  the  law  eflFected  in  respect  to 
slavery  tended  to  its  mitigation  ;  and  this  proceeded  from  this 
great  principle,  that  all  Israelites  were  God's  servants,  and 
brothers  one  with  another.  The  mitigations  of  the  condition  of 
slavery,  as  compared  with  the  practices  of  other  nations,  are  the 
following: — 1.  Every  Israelite  who  was  a  slave  could  either  be- 
come free  in  the  seventh  year,  or  might  bind  himself,  of  his  own 
free  will,  before  a  magistrate,  to  perpetual  slavery.  2.  That  every 
slave  enjoyed  protection  not  only  of  his  life,  but  of  his  person. 
3.  That  he  might  earn  property,  and  thereby  purchase  his  free- 
dom. 4.  That  every  week  he  had  one  day  of  rest  from  labour. 
Besides  these,  there  were  many  other  regulations  which  en- 
joined mercy  and  kindness  towards  slaves  from  a  higher  point 
of  view  ;  e.g.,  their  being  invited  to  the  sacrificial  feasts  :  Deut. 
xii.  17,  ch.  xvi.  11. 

Ver.  2.  JBu]/. — An  Israelite  might  sell  himself  out  of  poverty. 
Lev.  XXV.  39  ;  Deut=  xv.  12  ;  a  creditor  might  take  him  for  a 
slave  for  his  debt,  2  Kings  iv.  1 ;  the  thief  who  could  not  make 
restitution  was  sold,  ch.  xxii.  3.  In  other  cases,  the  prohibition 
held  good,  that  the  Israelites  were  not  to  buy  slaves  from  among 
their  brethren,  but  from  the  nations  who  lay  round  about  them  : 
Lev.  XXV.  44. 

Seventh. — In  the  two  services  of  Jacob  for  seven  years  each, 
there  appears  to  be  a  sign  that  perhaps  this  period  was  an  ancient 
one  for  voluntary  servitude.  Here,  by  this  law,  all  slavery,  with- 
out distinction,  is  limited  to  that  period.  It  has  been  long  a 
question,  whether  the  freedom  was  gained  in  the  seventh  year  of 
service,  or  in  the  actual  seventh  year,  that  is,  the  sabbatical 
yeai'.  As  in  the  express  command  concerning  the  sabbatical 
year,  Lev.  xxv.  1-7,  nothing  is  said  of  the  emancipation  of  the 
slaves,  the  first  view  seems  the  truer  one,  especially  as  else  the 
term  of  servitude  would  have  been  to  many  a  very  short  one. 
The  law  is  given  more  fully  Deut.  xv.  12-15. 

Ver.  4.  By  himself. — These  regulations  bear  indeed  on  them. 


EXODUS  XXI.  6-8.  291 

in  a  high  degree,  the  marks  of  the  severity  of  tlie  ancient  rela- 
tions of  slave  and  master.  It  must,  however,  be  kept  in  mind, 
that  this  wife  and  her  children  belonged  to  the  master,  and 
otherwise  the  slave  would  have  taken  away  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  his  property  without  possible  compensation.  And  the 
severity  is  mitigated  by  the  condition  which  follows — the  slave 
might  prefer  his  wife  and  child  to  freedom. 

Ver.  6.  For  ever. — A  solemn  legal  ceremony,  therefore,  was 
part  of  this  surrender  into  perpetual  servitude,  in  order  that  it 
might  not  be  the  result  either  of  intimidation  on  the  part  of  the 
master,  nor  of  inconsiderate  haste  on  the  part  of  the  slave, — a 
ceremony  which,  at  the  same  time,  left  an  abiding  mark  on  the 
body  of  the  slave.  "  Before  the  gods,"  lit.  in  Heb. ;  or  rather, 
before  God.  The  judges  are  not  called  gods  ;  but  the  place  of 
judgment  is  the  place  of  God's  presence,  whose  office  the  judges 
represent,  as  we  particularly  see  this  from  the  fact  that,  Deut. 
xix.  17,  it  is  said,  "The  people  who  have  a  controversy"  shall 
stand  before  the  Lord  (Jehov^ah),  before  the  priests  and  judges 
(cf  Deut.  i.  17).  Therefore  is  the  word  to  be  understood  as 
"  God"  (not  gods)  ;  so  also  ch.  xxii.  8,  27.  The  boring  of  the 
ear,  an  emblematic  custom  which  still  prevails  among  Eastern 
nations,  was  meant  to  signify  its  being  open  continually  to  hear 
and  to  obey.  So  its  application  to  our  Lord,  Ps.  xl.  6.  This 
took  place  at  the  door-post,  to  represent  the  slave's  abiding  rela- 
tion to  that  house. 

Ver.  7.  As  the  men-servants  do ;  i.e.,  she  shall  not  be  again 
free  in  the  seventh  year.  It  appears  that  afterwards,  before  the 
entrance  into  Canaan,  the  severity  of  this  rule  was  mitigated  : 
Deut.  XV.  17  ;  cf.  Jer.  xxxiv.  9,  10.  We  may,  perhaps,  here- 
in perceive  a  gradual  diminution  of  the  hardship  of  the  slave- 
condition,  to  which  the  Mosaic  law  was  in  general  unfavourable. 

Ver.  8.  Be  redeemed. — This  was,  even  then,  an  exception  from 
the  rule  just  established.  If  the  master  will  not  himself  take  her 
in  marriage  (as  a  concu.bine),  nor  give  her  to  his  son,  to  another, 
he  has  not  the  power  to  compel  her  to  I'cmain  unmarried  as  his 
slave  :  in  this  case  he  must,  at  her  desire,  "let  her  be  redeemed  ;" 
i.e.,  especially,  he  may  not  refuse  should  any  one  wish  to  buy 
her  free.  But,  perhaps,  this  expression  also  includes  his  letting 
her  go  free. 

Strange  nation. — "  Strange  nation  "    does  not  mean  here  a 


292  EXODUS  XXI.  11,  12. 

foreign  heathen  people.  Unto  such  no  Israehte  could  he  sold,  as 
in  this  case  the  right  of  being  free  again  would  be  altogether  lost — 
he  would  have  become  out  and  out  a  heathen.  When  Herod  pro- 
mulgated a  law  that  robbers  should  be  sold  as  slaves  to  foreigners, 
this  transgression  of  the  Divine  law  caused  a  violent  outbreak 
among  the  people.  "  People  "  often  signifies,  in  Hebrew,  also 
"  a  family  " — ("gathered  to  his  people,"  synonymous  with  "to 
his  relations,  his  fathers.")  He  might  not  sell  them  to  a  strange 
house,  but  must  afford  them  the  same  rights  as  the  men-servants 
had. 

Ver.  11.  Without  money. — A  relationship  which  Moses  found 
in  existence  (as  it  everywhere  prevailed  in  the  East),  was,  besides 
polygamy,  the  lower  kind  of  marriage,  concubinage,  as  we  find 
with  respect  to  Abraham.  Especially  was  it  usual  for  the  father, 
before  the  complete  regular  marriage,  to  give  his  son  a  slave  for 
his  concubine.  In  this  case,  she  was  to  be  treated  in  the  house 
as  a  daughter ;  but  if  the  son  contracts  a  regular  marriage,  he 
shall  still  after  it,  as  before,  treat  her  as  his  concubine,  and  grant 
her,  together  with  the  other,  nourishment,  clothing,  and  conjugal 
rights;  or,  if  not,  she  had  a  claim  to  be  let  go  free  without 
money.  This  was,  therefore,  a  case  in  which  a  kind  of  divorce 
complaint  was  allowed  the  woman. 

Yer.  12.  Put  to  death. — In  these  laws  which  here  follow  re- 
specting injuries  inflicted,  the  great  principle  enforced  is  that  of 
retaliation,  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  judicial  punish- 
ment. The  criminal  has  violated  the  order  of  God  in  the  life 
and  property  of  His  people,  and  that  order  must  be  restored  again 
in  him  by  recompense  made.  Such  recompense  extends,  ac- 
cording to  this  original  law  of  right,  to  the  smallest  particular — 
"  An  eye  for  an  eye,"  etc. — in  which,  however,  according  to  the 
analogy  of  all  other  legislations,  it  is  supposed  that  the  injured 
party  may  remit  the  retributory  punishment,  or  receive  resti- 
tution in  some  other  way ;  and  thus  it  holds  good  of  these,  as  of 
all  similar  Divine  and  human  laws,  that  the  general  principle  is 
laid  down  in  certain  definite  plain  examples,  which  principle, 
legal  usage  and  custom  extended  to  all  similar  cases,  and  more 
clearly  explained. — In  the  killing  hei'e  spoken  of,  intentional 
murder  is  not  meant  (the  homicidium  dolosum),  but  that  kind 
of  death-blow  which  is  inflicted  by  any  one  with  the  hostile  pur- 
pose of  doing  an  injury ;  and  which,  according  to   the   usual 


EXODUS  XXI.  13-15.  293 

course  of  things,  may  cause  death,  as  it  is  explained  in  reference 
to  several  particular  cases,  Num.  xxxv.  16-21. 

Ver.  13.  Shall  flee. — This,  therefore,  is  a  case  of  killing  by  an 
accidental  blow  without  intention  of  injuring.  The  law  points  to 
the  appointment  of  the  cities  of  refuge  at  a  later  period,  and  sup- 
poses the  relation  of  the  avenger  of  blood,  which  existed  from  the 
earliest  times :  cf.  Gen.  iv.  14.  Even  to  this  day,  in  certain 
parts  of  Arabia,  the  relations  of  the  slain  man  have  the  choice, 
whether  they  will  arrange  the  matter  with  the  connections  of 
the  slayer  before  the  magistrate,  or  have  the  murderer  delivered 
into  their  hands  that  they  may  themselves  put  him  to  death. 
Mohammed  expressly  confirms  this  in  the  Koran  :  "  Kill  no  man 
whom  ye  ought  not  to  kill  according  to  the  law  of  God ;  but  if 
any  one  is  killed  contrary  to  the  law,  then  his  nearest  in  kin  is 
appointed  as  avenger  of  blood  against  the  murderer  ;  but  he 
may  not,  in  his  manner  of  putting  to  death,  under  the  defence  of 
the  law,  transgress  the  law." — Koran,  Sur.  17,  Wahl.  In  the  law 
of  Moses  this  ancient  right  is  recognised  and  allowed  to  stand  : 
Num.  xxxv.  21.  It  was  one  out  of  the  many  remains  of  the 
patriarchal  time,  when  the  whole  state  was  included  in  the  family. 
Only  gradually  could  the  idea  of  a  governance  of  God  over  His 
whole  people,  and  of  the  exercise  of  His  judicial  right  by  means 
of  His  representatives,  overpower  every  idea  of  self-redress.  It 
was  a  step  in  that  direction  to  give  the  general  law  for  putting 
the  murderer  to  death,  and  also  to  appoint  the  cities  of  refuge 
for  the  protection  of  the  unintentional  slayer. 

Ver.  14.  Ifajjdie. — The  intentionalmurderer  shall  nowhere  find 
protection.  The  altar  of  the  Lord  is  not  profaned,  but  honoured, 
when  the  law  of  the  Lord  is  fulfilled  (cf.  1  Kings  ii.  29-31). 

Yer.  15.  Put  to  death. — Among  the  commands  which  deter- 
mine the  punishment  on  murderers,  men-stealers,  and  violent 
injurers  of  men's  persons,  there  are  two  which  appoint  the 
punishment  of  death  for  m\ach  smaller  offences  committed 
against  ])arents — this  one,  and  at  ver.  17.  Afterwards,  obstinate 
incorrigible  disobedience  to  parents  also  came  under  the  list  of 
crimes  wortliy  of  death  :  Deut.  xxi.  18-21.  The  reason  is  to  be 
found  in  that  divinely  hallowed  reverence  towards  parents  which 
is  implanted  in  us  by  God's  will,  Avhereby  any  injury  by  deed,  or 
a  cursing  of  parents,  is  a  violation  in  their  persons  of  God's 
majesty. 


294  EXODUS  XXI.  16-25. 

Ver.  IG.  Stealeth. — A  land  so  completely  a  thoroughfare  for 
merchants  as  Canaan  and  Arabia  Petrsea  was,  must  have 
offered  particular  facilities  to  this  crime.  He  who  in  this  man- 
ner not  only  deprived  an  Israelite  of  his  liberty,  but  also  sold 
him  to  a  heathen  people,  was  certainly  a  criminal  worthy  of 
death.  According  to  present  national  law,  this  crime  committed 
by  slave-dealers  on  negro  slaves  is  also  punished  with  death. 

Ver.  17.  Curseth, — The  curse  was  regarded  not  merely  as  an 
injurious  aftront  by  words,  but  as  an  especial  wrong,  since  he 
who  curses  invokes  the  aid  of  a  higher  power  against  the  other. 
As  God  has  sanctioned  reverence  towards  parents,  no  curse  from 
Him  at  the  summons  of  the  child  could  touch  them.  It  was  an 
evil  power,  therefore,  with  which  the  children  allied  themselves 
against  the  parents,  and  therefore  against  Him.  Hence  the 
punishment  of  death. 

Ver.  20.  Punished. — It  is  not  said  Avhat  should  be  the  nature 
of  the  punishment.  As  the  master  possessed  the  right  to  strike 
his  servant,  and  in  this  case,  therefore,  merely  the  excess  of  the 
chastisement  had  caused  death,  without  any  intention  on  the 
part  of  the  master,  the  punishment  of  death,  of  which  ver.  12 
speaks,  would  have  been  here  an  injustice.  Nevertheless,  as  the 
master  ought  to  be  made  aware  that  he  had  killed  not  simply 
his  own,  but  God's,  servant,  the  choice  of  punishment  might  be 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  magistrate. 

Ver.  21.  His  money ;  i.e.,  he  pays  already  a  fine  by  the  loss 
of  his  services. 

Ver.  22.  Judges,  who  here  act  as  arbitrators. 

Ver.  25.  Stripe  for  stripe. — This  law  is  afterward  extended  to 
every  kind  of  bodily  injury:  Lev.  xxiv.  19,  20.  It  was  the  an- 
cient law  also  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  with  the  last  of 
whom  a  law  of  the  Twelve  Tables  ran  thus  :  "  If  any  one  breaks 
anotlier's  limb,  and  they  do  not  come  to  terms  on  the  matter,  a 
reprisal  must  take  place."  The  same  exception  must  naturally 
be  presupposed.  Retaliation  is  the  groundwork  of  all  judicial 
punishment ;  but  as  civilisation  advances,  its  literal  carrjang 
into  effect  will  more  and  more  disappear.  Thus,  for  example, 
according  to  Solon's  laws,  any  one  who  had  destroyed  the  eye  of 
a  one-eyed  person,  for  punishment  was  to  lose  both  his  own.  In 
this  great  principle  of  retribution,  the  law  particularly  expresses 
its  own  inward  nature  ;  for  without  this  principle  there  could  be 


EXODUS  XXT.  27-32.  295 

no  justice,  nor  belief  in  a  Divine  judgment  of  the  world.  In  the 
stead  of  the  arbitrary  pleasure  or  will  of  the  individual  stands  the 
Divine  rule,  the  violation  of  which  is  made  good  by  the  violator 
receiving  the  same  as  he  has  inflicted.  It  is,  therefore,  only  an 
interpretation  and  elucidation  of  the  principle  on  which  the  law 
of  retaliation  rests,  when  Christ  (St  Matt.  v.  39,  etc.)  forbids  the 
individual  the  power  of  avenging  himself.  The  same  Lawgiver 
who  avenges  every  wilful  transgression  of  His  ordinance,  closes 
lip  also  the  source  of  such  violations  by  forbidding  every  with- 
standing of  the  injurer. 

Ver.  27.  Tooth's  sake. — A  gentleness  so  entirely  unknown  to 
heathen  antiquity,  that  it  was  only  in  the  second  century  B.C. 
that  any  punislnnent  was  decreed  against  masters  for  the  violent 
misusage  of  their  slaves. 

Ver.  28.  An  ox. — The  following  laws  treat  of  wrongs  and  in- 
juries done  by  or  to  the  property  of  another,  and  have  in  them  a 
certain  unity.  The  law  places  a  wall  of  defence  about  the  pos- 
sessions of  every  one,  and  visits  the  violation  of  it  by  enforcing 
compensation  of  one  or  more  of  the  same  kind.  In  like  manner, 
every  one  must  be  responsible  for  the  damage  done  by  means 
of  his  property. 

Ver.  30.  Laid  upon  him. — As  an  exact  retribution  for  tlie  in- 
jury, the  ox  must  die.  Of  course,  this  is  only  figuratively  a 
punishment  as  far  as  the  ox  is  concerned,  since  an  exact  one 
could  not  be  inflicted  on  it :  cf.  Gen.  iii.  14,  ch.  ix.  5;  Lev.  xx. 
15  ;  but,  in  order  to  maintain  in  every  instance  before  the  people 
the  great  principle  of  Divine  retribution  in  punishment,  this  is 
therefore  to  be  extended  to  the  beast  even.  The  case  here  men- 
tioned is  the  only  one  which  occurs  in  which  a  money  compen- 
sation for  a  death-blow  inflicted  might  be  taken.  This  was  else 
forbidden  :  Num.  xxxv.  31. 

Ver.  31.  Son. — Children  in  the  father's  power,  not  yet  inde- 
pendent. 

Ver.  32.  Shekels  of  silver. — As  compensation  for  the  loss  of 
his  property.  Shekel  Avas  originally  a  weight,  and  not  a  coin. 
It  has  been  differently  reckoned,  as  valued  according  to  what  is 
said  in  the  O.  T.,  or  according  to  the  coin  of  the  time  of  the 
Maccabees,  still  in  existence.  According  to  the  lowest  computa- 
tion its  value  was  about  fivcpence — at  its  highest,  one  shilling 
and  tcnpence. 


296  EXODUS  XXII.  4-17. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


Ver.  4.  Double. — It  appears  that  the  punishment  of  a  double 
restitution  was  the  usual  and  regular  one  :  that  of  four  or  five 
times  the  value  formed  the  exception  ;  at  least  so  it  was  in  later 
Jewish  law,  and  ver.  4  points  to  it.  This  punishment  of  double 
restitution,  which  probably  Moses  found  already  in  existence, 
rested  on  this — viz.,  that  by  a  theft,  not  simply  the  thing  stolen 
was  lost,  but  also  that  which  might  have  been  gained  or  pro- 
duced by  it.  Among  a  people  which  then  depended  for  subsist- 
ence on  its  herds,  and  was  destined  to  live  by  tillage,  the  stealing 
of  cattle  must  be  punished  with  peculiar  severity,  not  merely  to 
inspire  fear,  but  from  the  circumstance  that,  in  reliance  on 
people's  honesty,  the  same  care  was  not  bestowed  on  cattle  as  to 
other  things.  The  ox,  therefore,  which  was  essential  for  plough- 
ing, enjoyed  a  greater  legal  protection  than  the  smaller  cattle. 
If  the  OS  or  sheep  remain  still  alive  in  possession  of  the  thief, 
then  restitution  and  repentance  are  possible  on  his  side ;  hence, 
then,  only  the  usual  punishment  of  restoring  double. 

Ver.  6.  Thorns,  which  are  burnt  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  a 
field.  At  the  approach  of  the  rainy  season,  towards  the  end  of 
July,  it  is  customary  in  the  East  to  burn  on  the  field  the  dry 
grass,  weeds,  and  brambles  :  from  carelessness  or  malicious  in- 
tention, great  damage  could  often  be  occasioned  thereby. 

Ver.  9.  Pay  double.— CI  ch.  xxi.  6.— Before  "  God,"  in  the 
holy  place  consecrated  to  God,  must  the  accused  appear,  and  the 
matter  be  inquired  into.  In  what  manner  this  was  to  be  done, 
we  are  not  told.  The  sentence  pronounced  is,  then,  God's  own 
judgment. 

Ver.  15.  Hire. — The  hire  is  in  this  case  sufficient  compensa- 
tion. The  hirer  of  the  cattle  is  possessor  in  the  place  of  the  real 
owner — exercises  his  right  of  possession  ;  but  if  the  owner  be 
himself  present,  it  is  presumed  that  he  can  protect  his  own. 

Ver.  17.  Doiory. — This  law  concerning  virgins  is  here  placed 
with  the  foregoing  ones  about  property,  because  the  daughter 
was  so  regarded  by  the  father,  and  was  bought  in  marriage  from 
him  (so  the  German  word  for  marrying,  "heirathen,"  comes 


EXODUS  XXII.  18-21.  297 

from  "lielren," — Eng.  hire).  The  bridegroom  made  to  the 
father  a  certahi  payment,  either  in  money  or  goods,  or  in  ser- 
vice, as  Jacob  did  for  Laban,  or  other  gifts  and  performances, 
as  Shechem  for  Dinah,  Gen.  xxxiv.,  and  David  for  Michal, 
1  Sam.  xviii.  Afterwards  the  highest  demand  which  in  the 
above  case  could  be  made,  was  specified  :  Deut.  xxii.  29. 

Ver.  18.  Witch. — This  law  briefly  forbids  (as  under  the  pre- 
sent circumstances  was  proper)  that  which  afterwards  (Deut. 
xviii.  10,  11)  is  condemned  more  particularly.  The  Lord  God 
would  reveal  Himself  to  His  prophets  by  word  or  by  vision,  and 
by  the  "  light  and  justice"  of  the  high  priest,  to  all  of  His 
people  who  came  to  inquire.  He  therefore  who,  by  other 
means  learnt  from  the  heathen,  sought  to  know  the  future,  or  to 
work  miracles,  was  guilty  of  rebellion  against  the  true  God. 

Ver.  19.  Put  to  death. — The  revolting  crime  mentioned  in  this 
verse  was  practised  in  Egypt,  as  an  honour  paid  to  their  false 
deities.  Probably  it  is  mentioned  in  this  place  on  account  of 
its  connection  with  the  abominations  of  idolatry.  It  appears, 
likewise,  to  have  prevailed  among  the  Canaanites :  Lev.  xviii. 
3,  4,  22-28. 

Ver.  20.  Utterly  destroyed. — Lit.,  "  dedicated  to  the  Lord ;" 
i.e.,  to  destruction.  A  similar  form  of  expression  existed  among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Such  a  dedication  was  fulfilled  in 
war,  or  even  on  Israelitish  towns  whicli  had  lapsed  into  idolatry, 
as  a  Divine  judicial  punishment ;  and  in  this  case  it  was  not 
lawful  to  take  any  prey,  which  would  be  to  commit  a  sacrilege 
(Joshua  vi.  17-19).  The  same  was  done  to  particular  persons 
and  fields,  which  could  not  in  that  case  be  redeemed  (Lev.  xxvii. 
28,  29).  The  meaning  of  the  punishment  is  therefore  this, — 
that  a  man  who  has  carried  his  idolatry  to  the  extreme  of  offer- 
ing sacrifice,  may  not  under  any  circumstances  escaj)e  the 
severest  punishment. 

Ver.  21.  Ye  loere  stranrjers. — Tlie  purpose  of  this  humane  law 
(which  is  repeated,  ch.  xxiii.  9  ;  Lev.  xix.  33,  34;  Deut.  x.  18, 
19)  was,  as  these  words  show,  to  keep  Israel  in  mind,  that  it 
was  only  of  God's  grace  that  he  had  been  chosen  above  all  other 
peoj)le ;  and  that  they,  who  were  now  defenceless  strangers, 
might  also  some  day  become  God's  people.  All  other  ancient 
nations,  especially  the  Egyptians,  were  notoriously  unkind  to 
strangers.     The  contrary  sentiment  only  occurs  in  a  Greek  verse 


298  EXODUS  XXII.  2i,  25. 

as  a  rule  of  worldly  prudence  :    "  Be  hospitable  to  strangers  : 
you  also  may  be  a  stranger." 

Ver.  24.  Fatherless. — Here  also  shall  full  retribution  be  the 
punishment :  of.  Isa.  i.  17.  In  the  people  of  God,  the  Lord  is 
the  Husband  of  the  widow,  and  the  Father  of  the  fatherless. 
Hence  their  share  in  the  second  tithe  :  Dent.  xiv.  28,  29,  eh. 
xxvi.  12.  In  this,  and  similar  institutions,  are  to  be  seen  the 
germs  of  the  Christian  care  for  the  poor,  which  was  unknown  to 
heathen  antiquity ;  and  which,  when  Christianity  spread,  it 
sought  in  vain  to  imitate. 

Ver.  25.  As  an  usurer. — Heb. :  "  Thou  shalt  not  become  to 
him  as  a  creditor." 

Usury. — The  prohibition  of  all  usury  is  likewise  extended 
(Lev.  XXV.  36)  to  produce  of  the  land.  In  both  these  places  the 
reason  of  the  prohibition  appears  to  be  the  oppression  of  the 
poor  by  taking  usury  :  Deut.  xxiii.  19.  Usury  is  generally  for- 
bidden, but  the  taking  of  it  from  strangers  is  at  the  same  time 
permitted.  The  relation  of  all  Israelites  to  God  as  their  com- 
mon Lord,  was  plainly  the  ground  of  this  prohibition.  From 
"  His  people"  should  no  usury  be  taken  ;  and  so  far  the  prohi- 
bition is  a  result  of  the  general  brotherly  love,  by  means  of 
which  the  use  of  all  earthly  goods  ought  to  be  common  to  all 
men.  The  limitation  of  this  right  to  Israelites,  and  the  per- 
mission to  take  usury  from  strangers,  was  a  necessary  act  of  de- 
fence, in  respect  to  those  people  who  themselves  had  no  prohibi- 
tion about  usury.  The  practicability  of  the  prohibition  of  usury 
was  rendered  more  easy  among  the  Israelites  by  the  circum- 
stance, that  among  them  possessions  in  land  could  not  be 
alienated,  but  only  a  succession  of  harvests  might  be  sold ;  while 
a  number  of  other  laws  and  regulations  made  the  carrying  on  of 
trade  very  difficult.  And  so  it  was,  that  even  in  times  of  its 
greatest  prosperity,  the  trade  of  the  country,  for  which  Canaan 
was  so  conveniently  situated,  was  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
the  neighbouring  Phoenicians — a  people  of  Canaanitish  origin. 
The  law  does  not  determine  any  particular  punishment  for  the 
usurer.  It  appears  to  have  been  this,  that  he  had  no  legal  re- 
dress in  claiming  his  interest.  Although  this  law,  taken  literally, 
relates  to  circumstances  very  different  from  our  own,  and  which 
were  of  a  peculiar  character — the  condition  of  the  people  of  God 
on  earth,  in  the  time  of  its  nonage,  "  under  tutors  and  gover- 


EXODUS  XXII.  27-29.  299 

nors" — yet  lias  It  still  a  perpetual  meaning  for  all  times  and 
countries.  That  the  lender  should  receive  compensation  for  the 
risk  he  runs,  and  the  advantage  he  confers  on  the  borrower,  is 
not  only  fair,  but  likewise  mutually  advantageous.  A  literal 
prohibition  of  usury  would  make  loans  very  rare,  and  thus  act 
injuriously  on  the  borrower,  to  whom  the  possibility  of  a  loan  on 
interest  is  of  the  greatest  service.  But  in  its  spirit  the  Christian 
will  still  faithfully  observe  this  law.  He  ought  to  regard  himself 
simply  as  the  steward  of  goods  which  do  not  belong  to  him,  but 
are  only  entrusted  to  his  keeping.  Therefore,  so  far  as  lies  in 
him,  he  may  not  deny  any  one  a  participation  in  the  enjoyment 
of  his  substance,  unless  the  denial  be  to  the  benefit  of  him  who 
would  borrow  from  him. 

Ver.  27.  Sleep. — The  upper  coat,  the  only  clothing  the  poor 
had — consisting  of  a  large  piece  of  cloth,  six  ells  long  and  three 
wide,  fastened  about  the  body  with  a  girdle — still,  to  this  dav, 
serves  for  bed  likewise  amona;  the  Bedouins  and  wanderina:  Arab 
tribes.  This  property,  so  absolutely  necessary  to  him,  is  not  to 
be  taken  in  pledge  from  any  poor  man. 

Ver.  28.  Gods. — Heb.,  God.  The  judges  are  not  here  meant, 
who  are  nowhere  merely  called  "  God,"  or  gods  (cf.  ch.  xxi.  6, 
note),  but  God  the  Lord  Himself.  "  The  ruler  of  the  people  "  is 
mentioned  together  with  Him,  to  show  that  he  is  God's  vicegerent. 

Ver.  29.  Liquors. — Lit.,  "  tear."  Here  is  meant  the  harvest 
of  every  kind  of  fruit,  and  the  juice  of  the  olive  and  grapes, — the 
first  of  the  garner  and  the  wine-press,  Avhich  are  here  mentioned 
together  with  the  first-born  son.  The  first  of  every  sort  of  pos- 
session is  to  be  given  to  God,  in  order,  by  this  figurative  sur^ 
render,  to  sanctify  the  whole.  The  son  likewise  is  the  father's 
])roperty,  and  is  therefore  to  be  given  up  to  God  :  but  he  is  at 
the  same  time  more  than  any  other  property :  he  stands,  as  an 
image  of  God,  in  an  independent  relation  to  God,  and  is  therefore 
not  in  person  to  be  offered  up  as  a  sacrifice,  but  figuratively  to 
be  consecrated  to  God  by  means  of  another  gift  offered  in 
ransom  :  cf.  ch.  xiii.  introd. — This  command  is  no  lono-er  bind- 
ing  on  Christians  i-n  its  literal  sense,  but  it  is  in  its  spiritual. 
They  are  not  only  bound  to  serve  God,  and  not  themselves,  with 
all  that  they  possess ;  but  they  shall  also  manifest  this  service 
by  the  express  surrender  of  their  best  and  their  dearest,  for  the 
sake  of  God  and  His  kingdom. 


300  EXODUS  xxir.  31 ;  xxiii.  1-13. 

Ver.  31.  Dogs. — The  meaning  of  this,  and  of  other  prohibi- 
tions with  respect  to  food,  is  explained,  Gen.  vii.  3,  note. 


CHAPTEE  XXIII. 

Ver.  1.  Raise. — "  Thou  shalt  not  receive  a  lying  report."  This 
command,  like  many  others  of  the  following,  refers  particularly 
to  judges;  but  there  were  not  always  at  that  time  (as  ch.  xviii. 
shows)  established  persons  in  authority.  Every  one  also  was 
judge  in  his  own  house  ;  and,  therefore,  these  commands  were 
given  with  a  general  application.  The  prohibition  to  receive 
false  accusation  is  directed  against  the  hypocritical  justification 
of  a  judge  or  arbitrator,  who  would  excuse  himself  by  saying 
he  had  received  this  or  that  report,  of  which  he  nevertheless 
knew  that  it  was  false. 

Ver.  3.  Countenance. — Simple  truth  and  justice  do  not  permit 
any  deviation  from  the  right  path,  either  through  a  false  report, 
nor  from  friendship  to  the  unrighteous,  nor  from  regard  to  the 
multitude,  nor  yet  from  false  sympathy  with  a  poor  man  who  is 
in  the  wrong. 

Ver.  5.  Help. — In  these  commands  a  true  practical  love  of 
their  enemies  is  taught.  They  show  how  false  it  is  to  ascribe 
without  consideration  the  declaration,  St  Matt.  v.  43,  to  the 
O.  T.     A  similar  command  is  given,  Deut.  xxii.  4. 

Ver.  7.  Justify. — Think  not  that  thou  as  judge  can  witli  im- 
punity slay  tlie  innocent :  thy  judgment  will  not  make  the  wrong 
to  be  right. 

Ver.  9.  Oi^press. — This  command  is  similar  to  that  in  ch.  xxii. 
21 ;  but  the  earlier  one  is  a  general  commandment,  while  this 
especially  refers  to  the  dealings  of  persons  in  power  and  authority 
in  their  official  capacity. 

Ver.  11.  Oliveyard. — This  is  only  a  short  preliminary  direc- 
tion :  afterwards.  Lev.  xxv.,  the  same  thing  is  spoken  of  more 
fully,  and  in  connection  with  the  year  of  jubilee. 

Ver.  13.  Other  gods. — This  general  exhortation  w^ould  impress 
upon  them,  that  these  directions  here  given  are  tlie  signs  of  the 
covenant  of  the  chosen  people  ;  that  their  obedience  to  them 
excludes  every  kind  of  worship  of  strange  gods. 


EXODUS  XXIII.  14-19.  301 

Vcr.  14.  Three  times. — This  threefold  order  of  feasts  pohits  to 
the  establishment  of  Israel  to  be  the  chosen  people — liis  con- 
tinued preservation  and  maintenance,  and  his  olorious  destiny ; 
and  it  declares  God  to  be  the  Creator,  the  Preserver,  the  Perfecter 
of  His  people.  The  first  feast  is  one  of  atonement  and  purifica- 
tion ;  the  second,  a  feast  of  thankfulness  ;  the  last,  of  rejoicino-. 
In  all  three  are  united  the  remembrancers  of  natural  and  spiritual 
blessings.  The  feast  of  the  beginning  of  harvest,  of  its  comple- 
tion, and  the  feast  of  the  vintage,  are  connected  with  the  feast  of 
thanksgiving  for  their  preservation  out  of  Egypt,  of  the  giving 
of  the  law,  and  of  their  support  during  the  dangers  of  the  journey 
tlirough  the  wilderness. 

Ver.  15.  Empty. — With  offerings  of  sacrifice,  as  marks  of 
homage  to  their  King.  The  particulars  of  the  offerings  at  the 
feasts  are  given  later. 

Ver.  16.  Ilast  sown. — It  does  not  mean  that  at  this  "  feast  of 
harvest"  the  harvest  had  only  begun,  and  the  first  reaped  sheaves 
been  offered;  since,  from  Lev.  xxiii.  17,  it  is  clear  that  two 
wave-loaves  of  the  new  corn  were  offered.  Pather,  the  bread  is 
called.  Lev.  xxiii.  20,  "  first-fruits,"  because  it  was  baked  of  the 
first  of  the  fruits  of  the  field. 

Ver.  18.  Unleavened  bread. — In  no  sacrifice  might  unleavened 
bread  be  offered  :  cf.  introd.  ch.  xii. 

Ver.  19.  Mother  s  milk. — There  is  something  obscure  in  this 
command,  which  again  occurs  in  ch.  xxxiv.  26,  and  also  Dent, 
xiv.  21.  The  Jewish  tradition  of  the  Thalmud  understands  the 
words  to  mean,  that  by  the  "  kid,"  animals  of  every  kind  are 
intended ;  and  by  the  mother's  milk,  it  is  not  meant  that  of  tlie 
particular  animal  itself,  but  a  general  prohibition  is  given  of 
dressing  an  animal  in  the  milk, — i.e.,  the  butter — of  another 
animal.  The  moderns  have  found  a  somewhat  farfetched  reason 
in  the  prohibition  :  they  suppose  that  ISIoses  would  Avean  tlie 
Israelites  from  the  use  of  butter,  which  they  had  learnt  in  Egypt, 
and  woukl  accustom  them  to  the  use  of  oil  in  Canaan,  thereby 
to  make  the  land  pleasant  to  them,  and  the  return  to  Egypt  un- 
welcome. But  the  command  is  here,  and  in  the  place  where  it 
next  occui's,  ch.  xxxiv.  26,  given  in  connection  with  the  festive 
offerings  :  iu  the  latter,  it  is  mentioned  together  with  the  beasts 
which  were  forbidden.  It  is,  therefore,  not  improbable  that  this 
law  had  a  double  object  in  view  :  in  the  first  place,  to  promote  a 


302  EXODUS  XXIII.  20,  21. 

certain  gentleness  and  tenderness  towards  the  animals  them- 
selves, as  there  appears  a  degree  of  brutality  in  dressing  the  kid 
in  the  mother's  milk,  which  has  been  its  nourishment.  In  this 
respect,  it  is  similar  to  the  command  that  the  beast  should  rest 
on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  to  the  law  witli  regard  to  bird  nests  : 
Dent.  xxii.  6,  7.  But,  moreover,  the  brutality  against  which  it 
was  directed,  seems  to  have  been  practised  not  without  a  mean- 
ing, but  to  have  had  its  origin  in  a  heathen  superstitious  custom, 
of  which  marks  elsewhere  are  found,  ascribing  a  magical  power 
to  the  use  of  such  milk. 

Ver.  20.  Behold. — The  first  great  division  of  the  laws  of  the 
covenant  concludes  with  the  last  commandments.  After  such 
laws  had  been  delivered  to  them  as  were  necessary  for  the 
guidance  of  their  present  way  of  life  in  the  wilderness,  and  for 
time  to  come,  promises  of  grace  follow  in  respect  to  the  defence 
and  help  to  be  afforded  the  people  on  their  entrance  into  the 
Promised  Land. 

Ver.  21.  Jfy  name. — These  words,  compared  with  others  of 
similar  import,  are  of  great  consequence  in  bringing  us  to  a  know- 
ledge of  the  nature  of  this  Angel.  God  will  send  an  Angel  before 
the  people  whom  Israel  is  to  obey  :  He  will  be  angry  with  them 
if  they  transgress :  He  has  the  power  of  forgiveness.  All  this  is 
declared  in  the  expression,  "  My  name  is  in  Him."  In  the  per- 
son of  this  Angel,  God  goes  before,  and  with.  His  people.  God 
declares,  ch.  xxxiii.  2,  3,  He  will  not  go  up  with  the  people,  "  lest 
He  consume  them  in  the  way ;"  but  He  will  send  an  angel  before 
them.  Between  these  two  angels,  therefore,  a  great  difference  must 
exist.  In  the  one  is  God's  name,  i.e.,  His  whole  revealed  Being  : 
whoever  displeases  Him,  displeases  God  Himself:  so  likewise 
He  forgives  in  God's  name,  without  the  mediation  of  any  other. 
The  other,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  subordinate  servant  of  God  :  an 
offence  committed  by  Israel  against  him  is  not  directly  against 
God  Himself,  but  against  a  creature.  In  the  place  before  us. 
Scripture  speaks  therefore  of  a  messenger  of  the  Lord  equal  to 
the  uncreated  God,  whose  acts  are  the  acts  of  God  Himself. 
By  means  of  Him,  Israel  stood  in  a  different  relation  to  God 
from  all  other  people.  As  they  enjoyed  a  higher  degree  of 
grace  and  blessing,  so  did  they  run  far  greater  risk  if  they 
transgressed  against  God.  On  the  other  hand,  if  God  had  car- 
ried into  execution  the   threat  at  ch.  xxxiii.  2,  3,  the  people 


EXODUS  XXIII.  24-28.  303 

would  then  have  been  placed  on  a  like  footing  with  the  heathen, 
in  a  lower  relation  with  God,  and  at  the  same  time  with  less 
responsibility  like  them.  This,  therefore,  is  the  Angel  who  led 
the  people  out  of  Egypt  (Num.  xx.  16),  who  appeared  to  Joshua 
as  "  Captain  of  the  host  of  the  Lord"  (Joshua  v.  14),  as  the 
"Presence  of  the  Lord"  (ch.  xxxiii.  1,  4),  the  "Angel  of  His 
Presence"  (Isa.  Ixiii.  9),  the  "Angel  of  the  Covenant"  (Mai.  iii. 
1), — in  whom  even  then  was  the  Duality  in  God's  nature  revealed. 
The  full  revelation  of  this  truth  was  made  known  in  the  sending 
of  the  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world,  followed  by  the  revela- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and 
vmiting  the  Two,  made  known  by  its  pouring  out  on  all  flesh. 
That  Scripture  does  not  here  speak  of  an  impersonal,  visible 
appearance  (like  the  pillar  of  the  cloud,  or  the  burning  bush), 
which  God  calls  His  angel,  and  by  which  He  speaks,  is  evident 
from  the  words,  which  denote  most  forcibly  a  Person.  "  Pro- 
voke Him  not :"  He  will  "  not  forgive  :"  which  can  only  by 
great  violence  be  regarded  as  a  form  of  expression  for  what  God 
Himself  will  do. 

Ver.  24.  Break  down. — This  prohibition  is  particularly  directed 
against  the  heathen  superstition,  which  regarded  the  gods  as 
closely  bound  to  the  land,  and  the  land  as  belonging  to  them ; 
and  so  in  cases  of  any  public  calamity,  or  of  invasion,  the  protec- 
tion of  the  gods  of  the  country  was  propitiated.  Thus,  in  later 
times,  the  invading  heathens,  the  progenitors  of  the  Samaritans, 
honoured  Jehovah,  together  with  their  own  deities  :  2  Kings 
xvii.  24. 

Ver.  26.  Thy  days. — Shall  not  die  an  unnatural,  premature  death. 
Ver.  28.  Hornets. — Two  instances  occur  in  Eastern  history  of 
an  immense  swarm  of  insects  contributing  to  the  decision  of  a 
battle.  We  might  therefore  suppose  that  this  promise  was  to 
be  understood  in  this  manner, — that  God  would  direct  and  in- 
crease in  a  miraculous  manner  a  natural  occurrence,  to  assist 
in  conquering  their  enemies.  But  it  is  remarkable,  that  Joshua, 
xxiv.  12,  after  the  conquest  of  the  land  was  accomplished,  speaks 
of  the  driving  out  of  the  Canaanites  by  hornets,  without  the 
slightest  mention  occurring  of  such  an  incident  in  the  liistory  of 
the  invasion.  AYe  may  therefore  conclude,  that  under  this  name 
were  intended  all  the  various  visitations  and  alarms  whereby 
God  brousrht  about  the  destruction  of  those  nations. 


304  EXODUS  XXIII.  30-32  ;   XXIV. 

Ver.  30.  Inherit  the  land. — Only  after  the  people  of  Israel  had 
spread  abroad  and  multiplied,  and  begun  to  cultivate  the  con- 
quered territory,  were  the  heatheu  to  be  extirpated.  The 
gradual  driving  out  of  them  was  of  God's  express  purpose,  and 
would  have  taken  place  under  all  circumstances.  It  must  not, 
therefore,  be  confounded  with  the  people's  sparing  many  tribes 
out  of  unbelief,  weakness,  or  an  inclination  towards  heathenism, 
of  which  mention  is  made.  Judges  i.  21,  etc. 

Ver.  31.  River;  i.e.,  the  Euphrates.  So,  from  the  Red  Sea 
and  the  Mediterranean  through  the  wilderness,  even  to  that 
great  river.  These  were,  in  fact,  the  boundaries  of  the  land  of 
Israel  in  the  time  of  their  greatest  prosperity  under  David  and 
Solomon ;  and  if  it  were  otherwise  in  after  times,  the  fault  was 
that  of  the  people  themselves.  It  is  evident  that  the  deserts 
in  the  east  and  south  were  not  allotted  as  dwelling-places,  but 
notwithstanding  the  claim  of  Israel  remained  as  neutral  spots. 
Hence  the  possession  of  the  oases,  and  other  places  of  pasture  in 
the  deserts,  were  continually  subjects  of  strife. 

Ver.  32.  Snare;  a  cause  of  falling  into  sin — of  falling  away 
from  God. 


CHAPTEE  XXIV. 

Hitherto  Closes  had  been  in  the  darkness  on  the  mountain 
wherein  God  was  (ch.  xx.  21),  after  the  people  had  heard  God 
Himself  deliver  to  them  the  ten  commandments :  he  now  re- 
ceives the  further  interpretation  of  them  in  his  mysterious  inter- 
course with  the  Lord,  where  he  probably  laid  before  Him  all 
which  at  that  time  seemed  to  him  of  moment,  and  obtained  His 
decision  thereupon.  At  the  close  of  the  delivery  of  these  great 
fundamental  laws  of  the  covenant,  he  is  commanded,  after  solemn 
offering  of  sacrifice,  to  come  up  together  with  the  elders  of  Israel 
into  the  immediate  presence  of  the  Lord,  in  order  to  receive  there 
the  documents  of  the  covenant,  the  two  tables  of  the  law  written 
by  the  finger  of  God.  There,  on  the  mountain,  he  passed  forty 
days,  that  he  might  thence,  living  exclusively  in  mysterious  com- 
munion with  God,  contemplate  his  Avliole  future  mission  ;  might 
prepare  himself  for  it  by  fasting  and  prayer ;  and  might,  in  an- 


EXODUS  XXIV.  1-4.  305 

ticipatlon,  pass  tlironr^h  his  struggles  and  difficulties  which  were 
to  come.  But  as  tlie  old  covenant  represented  especially,  in 
significant  types  and  shadows,  future  heavenly  blessings,  we 
perceive  from  what  immediately  follows,  that  the  ark  of  the 
covenant  with  its  furniture,  and  the  service  of  the  priesthood, 
were  the  things  more  particularly  which  were  shown  to  him  on 
the  mount. 

Ver.  1,  Come  up. — After  the  sacrifice  (of  which  mention  is 
made  afterwards)  had  been  offered.  The  people  had  already  pro- 
mised to  do  all  that  the  Lord  should  say  to  them  (ch.  xix.  8)  : 
therefore  no  further  mention  here  of  the  renewal  of  the  vow,  but 
only  of  the  solemn  act  which  followed  thereupon,  and  which  is 
immediately  connected  with  the  delivery  of  the  tables  of  the 
covenant. 

Afar  off. — From  the  body  of  the  elders  were  seventy  (or 
rather  seventy-two,  since  seventy  is  a  round  number),  six  out  of 
each  tribe,  to  be  chosen,  who  should  come  up  with  Moses  into 
the  mount.  These  elders  afterwards  (Num.  xi.  16)  received 
an  office  under  Moses.  Here  are  they  chosen  only  as  a  num- 
ber of  representatives  —  perhaps  with  a  reference  to  those 
seventy  who  came  with  Jacob  down  into  Egypt  (ch.  i.  5).  In 
all  this  narrative  is  manifest  the  wide  distinction  betwixt  the  old 
and  new  covenant.  In  the  New  Testament,  all  believers  are 
called  on  to  enter  with  their  Forerunner  into  the  holiest  through 
the  veil  (Heb.  x.  19) ;  while  in  the  Old,  merely  the  chosen  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people,  and  they  only  to  a  very  limited  extent, 
may  come  into  the  presence  of  God.  Still,  however,  the  general 
priestly  dignity  of  the  whole  people  is  declared  in  the  fact,  that 
not  consecrated  priests,  but  elders  out  of  every  tribe,  enjoy  this 
high  privilege  (ch.  xix.  G). 

Ver.  3.  Judgments. — Those  contained  in  ch.  xxi.  23. 

Ver.  4.  Wrote. — Moses  must  (ch.  xvii.  14)  have  first  written 
at  God's  command  an  important  and  remarkable  history  in  the 
book,  which  was  to  serve  for  the  people  as  a  perpetual  memorial 
of  these  great  .events  of  its  early  origin.  Now^,  he  is  commanded 
to  write  anew  (on  a  papyrus  roll)  the  whole  laws  of  the  cove- 
nant, which  begin  with  the  ten  commandments,  and  continiie  to 
the  end  of  the  last  chapter.  This  was  the  more  ample  book  of 
the  covenant ;  the  purport  of  which  the  tables  of  stone  rcprc- 

u 


306  EXODUS  XXIV.  4-8. 

sented.  The  books  of  Moses  were  afterwards  composed  in  the 
wilderness,  from  the  subject-matter  contained  in  these  two  por- 
tions. 

Ver.  4.  Israel. — The  tabernacle,  with  the  great  altar  in  the 
fore-court,  was  not  yet  erected.  This  is,  therefore,  a  temporary 
altar,  according  to  the  direction  in  the  laws  of  the  covenant,  ch. 
XX.  24.  Twelve  pillars — i.e.,  stones  heaped  one  upon  another — 
surround  it,  in  order  to  mark  it  as  the  altar  of  covenant  for  the 
whole  people  in  its  twelve  tribes. 

Ver.  5.  Sacrificed. — Thanksgiving  was  the  main  object ;  but 
we  also  afterwards  find  that  burnt-offerings  are  always  joined 
with  solemn  thank-offerings,  in  order  to  keep  ever  in  view  the 
notion  of  self-surrender  and  propitiation  which  prevails  in  the 
burnt-offerings. 

Ver.  6.  Sprinkled. — This  was  the  great  sacrifice  of  covenant, 
such  as  took  place  in  ancient  days  in  every  making  of  agree- 
ments. We  see,  Gen.  xv.,  that  the  Lord  Himself  condescended 
to  this  custom  of  confirming  a  covenant.  The  different  customs 
of  different  people,  in  their  sacrifices  at  covenants,  all  had  the 
meaning  which  is  expressed  in  the  prayer  of  the  two  armies  in 
Homer  :  "  O  Jove,  most  glorious,  most  great,  and  all  ye  immor- 
tal gods,  whoever,  of  the  two,  first  breaks  these  sacred  oaths,  let 
his  brain  be  poured  on  the  ground  like  this  wine  !" — Iliad,  iii. 
298.  The  sprinkling  of  the  blood  which  followed  on  the  sacrifice, 
was  the  act  of  appropriating  and  applying  it.  One  half  only 
was  sprinkled  on  the  altar,  the  material  representation  of  God's 
pi'esence  at  this  sacrifice  ;  the  other  half  is  sprinkled  on  the 
people,  which  by  this  means  ratifies  the  covenant. 

Ver.  7.  Book. — Even  in  the  O.  T.,  where  God  spake  so  much 
to  His  people,  yet  but  children  in  understanding,  by  means  of 
figure,  this  solemn  act  was  not  complete  without  the  word  of 
explanation  and  instruction.  Before  the  promise  was  renewed 
on  the  side  of  the  people,  and  so  the  covenant  concluded  by  both 
parties,  the  whole  laws  of  the  covenant  were  read  in  the  ears  of 
the  people.  "  This  act  shows  us  clearly  the  true  nature  of  the 
sacraments,  and  their  right  use.  If  the  word  goes  not  first  as 
the  bond  of  mutual  union  betwixt  God  and  man,  then  are  they 
empty  acts,  whatever  name  of  honour  people  may  assign  to 
them," — Calvin. 


EXODUS  XXIV.  8-10.  307 

Ver.  8.  All  these  words. — The  solemn  estcablishment  of  the 
old  covenant.  With  these  words  are  naturally  connected  those 
of  the  histitution  of  the  holy  Eucharist  (St  ^latt.  xxvi.  28  ;  St 
Mark  xiv.  24),  in  which  we  receive  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  (Ileb.  x.  22  ;  1  St  Peter  i.  2),  and  the  participation 
in  all  the  blessings  of  the  sacrifice  of  His  death. 

Ver.  9.  Went  up. — The  elders  now  ascend  to  the  middle 
height  of  the  mountain,  in  order,  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
people,  to  behold  Him  who  had  made  the  covenant  with  them. 
We  might  here  suppose  that,  like  Isa.  vi.  1,  and  Ezek.  i.  27, 
they  saw  a  glorified  human  form  before  them  ;  and  the  mention 
of  His  feet  (ver.  10)  seems  to  favour  the  supposition.  But  it  is 
expressly  said  (Deut.  iv.  12),  "The  people  heard  His  voice,  but 
saw  no  similitude," — which  is  applicable  to  the  elders  also  ;  and 
though  it  need  not  have  surprised  us  if  the  Lord,  who  appeared 
in  human  form  in  Paradise,  and  afterwards  to  the  patriarchs,  and 
in  later  times  revealed  Himself  in  like  fashion  to  the  prophets, 
thereby  to  prepare  for  His  perfect  manifestation  in  human  na- 
ture, had  likewise  here  shown  Himself  in  a  glorious  human  form ; 
still  the  reason  is  quite  obvious  why  such  a  revelation  of  Him- 
self at  this  time  would  have  been  very  unsuitable.  It  was  of  the 
greatest  importance  that  a  people  so  imbued  with  a  heathenish 
Nature-worship  should  be  impressed  with  the  feeling  that  God's 
nature  is  raised  far  above  anything  Avhich  can  be  seen  and 
known — that  He  dwelleth  in  inaccessible  light.  If  God  were 
thus  recognised  in  His  perfect  sublimity,  as  far  above  all  things 
created,  then,  and  then  only,  in  its  due  time,  might  be  compre- 
hended His  condescension  out  of  love  to  man,  whom  he  had 
made  after  Plis  own  image — then  would  be  seen  in  the  assumed 
human  form  only  a  type  of  His  glory,  which  nothing  created 
could  adequately  represent;  and  thus  did  the  human  nature 
which  was  in  after  ages  truly  and  really  assumed  by  God,  ap- 
pear as  inseparable  from,  yet  unmixed  with,  the  Divine  nature. 
For  this  cause  they  saw  no  similitude.  Hence  was  the  throne 
of  God  on  the  ark  of  the  covenant  empty :  hence  Moses  drew 
near  to  God  in  the  darkness,  wherein  he  saw  nothing,  but 
could  only  in  unspeakable,  spiritual  communion  hear  and  per- 
ceive what  God  revealed  to  him. 

Ver.  10.  Sapphire  stone. — A  blue  transparent  precious  stone. 


308  EXODUS  XXIV.  11,  12. 

The  heaven  itself,  the  most  sublime  thing  in  creation,  lies  at  the 
feet  of  the  Most  High,  whom  no  creature  can  represent.  If  the 
elders  had  seen  any  form,  they  would  have  enjoyed  a  privilege 
greater  than  Moses  did,  ch.  xxxiii.  28.  Therefore  the  Sept. 
gives  the  translation,  "  They  saw  the  place  where  God  stood  :" 
above  it,  no  doubt,  a  glorious  lustre  of  light. 

Ver.  11.  Laid  not  His  hand. — The  same  expression  as  Gen. 
xxii.  12.  Although  they  had  seen  God  in  a  degree  such  as  was 
not  granted  to  the  rest  of  the  people,  by  an  immediate  revelation 
of  Himself,  and  as  sinners  must  fear  to  be  brought  so  near  His 
presence  (Isa.  vi.  5 ;  Gen.  xvi.  13,  note),  yet  He  harmed  them 
not.  He  who  had  called  them  to  Him,  justified  them,  and 
cleansed  them  from  their  sins  in  this  His  word  of  calling. 

Did  eat  and  drink. — They  solemnised  a  sacrificial  festival  of 
the  sacrifices  which  were  offered  beneath  on  the  mountain.  On 
this  solemn  occasion  is  shown  the  unity  which  existed  betwixt 
every  kind  of  sacrifice.  The  sin-offering  is  made  in  the  burnt- 
ofi'ering,  and  the  thank-offering  also  has  the  nature  of  a  sin- 
offering  by  means  of  the  sprinkling  which  followed  thereon  ;  but 
at  the  same  time  a  sacrificial  feast  is  made  of  the  victims,  as  was 
else  only  the  case  in  thank-offerings,  thus  representing  the  en- 
joyment and  the  assurance  of  the  blessing.  In  these  words  we 
perceive  an  intimation  of  a  difference  between  Moses  and  the 
elders.  He  fasted  forty  days  on  the  mountain,  miraculously  sus- 
tained by  God's  power,  and  thereby  was  distinguished  above  the 
elders,  who  "  did  eat  and  drink." 

Ver.  12.  Teach  them.—"  The  tables  of  stone,"  salth  God;  al-* 
though  there  has  not  been  mention  made  of  them,  because 
henceforth  they  were  about  to  become  the  well-known  records  of 
the  covenant.  The  law  of  the  ten  commandments  is  eno-raven 
on  stone  to  show  their  imperishable  character ;  and  since  God 
Himself  first  spake  these  words,  and  not  Moses,  He  gave  the 
law  written  by  His  own  hand,  without  the  intervention  of  a  man. 
In  the  N.  T.  the  law  is  said  to  have  been  "  ordained  by  angels  " 
(Acts  vii.  53  ;  Gal.  iii.  1 9) ;  since  God,  in  all  His  dealings  in 
the  creation,  and  especially  in  reference  to  His  kingdom,  makes 
use  of  the  service  of  angels.  And  therefore,  highly  exalted  as 
is  this  law-giving  of  the  Mosaic  covenant,  it  is  infinitely  beneath 
the  greatness  of  the  revelation  of  the  new  covenant ;  since  in 


EXODUS  XXIV.  13-17;  XXV.  309 

this  last  God  does  not  make  use  of  tlie  service  of  angels  to  de- 
clare and  to  confirm  His  covenant,  and  there  is  no  mediator  be- 
tween the  two  parties ;  but  tlie  Son  Himself  becomes  man,  and 
makes  known  what  He  has  heard  in  His  Father's  bosom  ;  and  He 
who  enters  into  communion  with  God  is  One  with  God,  and 
Himself  God. 

Ver.  13.  Mount  of  God. — They  went  up  jfrom  the  part  of  the 
mountain  whence  the  elders  on  its  highest  point  had  beheld  the 
glory  of  the  Lord.  Moses'  servant  Joshua  had  from  the  first 
accompanied  him;  but  because  he  had  personally  no  indepen- 
dent rank,  but  had  only  to  minister  to  Moses,  mention  is  not 
made  of  him  before.  But  at  the  same  time  Joshua  also  was  by 
this  service  distinguished  beyond  the  others,  as  he  was  permitted 
to  penetrate  farther  than  they  ;  and  herewith  likewise  he  received 
the  beginning  of  consecration  to  his  future  office  of  successor  to 
Moses. 

Ver.  14.  Come  unto  them. — As  Moses'  deputies,  they  were  to 
arrange  every  doubt  and  every  dispute  among  the  seventy. 

Ver.  17.  Devouring  fire. — A  cloud,  from  which  on  every  side 
shot  forth  lightnings.  God,  therefore,  here  dwelt  in  darkness  ; 
and  yet  a  darkness  which  no  man  could  with  impunity  approach 
unto,  except  he  whom  His  word  had  sanctified. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  minute  and  detailed  description  of  the  sanctuary,  now  to 
be  erected,  requires  us  to  look  on  this  event  as  one  of  the  most 
important  in  the  giving  of  the  law.  If  Israel  is  to  form  one 
united  people,  it  must  also  have  one  national  sanctuary :  only 
by  these  means  could  it  be  freed  from  the  slavery  of  that  Nature- 
worship  to  which  the  heathens  were  subjected,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  which  they  regarded  every  particular  revelation  of  the 
Divine  in  nature  differently,  according  to  peculiarity  of  place 
and  people,  and  received  it  among  the  subjects  of  their  worship. — 
The  names  of  this  tabernacle  are  full  of  significance  :  it  is  called 


310  EXODUS  XXV. 

the  "house"  or  "dwelling-place  of  God,"  the  "tent  of  assembly/' 
as  the  place  where  God  Himself  dwells  among  His  people,  and 
through  which  He  enters  into  communion  with  them  (ver.  22, 
ch.  xxix.  42,  note) — "  the  tent  of  testimony,"  Num.  ix.  15,  as  the 
place  where  the  law  was  kept — "  the  sanctuary,"  as  the  place 
which  belonged  exclusively  to  God,  the  Holy  One,  being  severed 
from  all  that  is  earthly,  human,  sinful.     The  place  where  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel  revealed  Himself,  and  entered  into  commu- 
nication with  His  people,  consisted  of  two  parts  : — (1.)  The  holiest 
of  all,  God's  especial  dwelling-place,  which,  both  in  this  taber- 
nacle and  in  the  temple  afterwards,  was  completely  dark.     Into 
this  the  high  priest  only,  on  the  day  of  expiation,  might  enter, 
veiled  in  a  cloud  of  incense. — (2.)  The  holy  place,  where  the 
people,  through  their  consecrated  mediators  and  intercessors  the 
priests,  might  draw  near  to  their  King.     Therefore  the  whole 
people  is  represented,  if  righteous,  as  dwelling  on  the  holy  hill 
in  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord  (Ps.  xv.  1,  xxiii.  6,  xxvii.  4).    But 
because  the  whole  people  dwelling  in  the  sanctuary  is  still  sin- 
ful, the  tabernacle,  with  all  that  belonged  to  it,  was  to  be  puri- 
fied on  the  day  of  expiation  :  Lev.  xvi.  15,  16.     And  therefore, 
when  the  Lord  breaks  off  all  communion  with  His  people.  He 
Himself  destroys  the  temple  (Amos  ix.  1)  ;  and  when  this  com- 
munion shall  again  be  restored  after  a  glorious  manner,  then  the 
Messiah  builds  up  the   temple   again  (Zech.  ix.  12),  tlien  He 
anoints  the  Most  Holy  :  Dan.  ix.  24. — All  the  vessels  which  are 
therein  refer  to  this  meaning  of  the  sanctuary.     In  the  holy  of 
holies  was  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  with  its  records,  the  tables  of 
the  law,  or  the   "Testimony," — this  declared   the  will  of  the 
Lord,  and  bore  witness  against  the  sins  of  the  people.     Above 
this  was  the  covering  of  reconciliation,  or  the  mercy-seat,  which 
covered  the  testimony  that  condemned  :  upon  this  was  God  en- 
throned above  the  cherubim  as  the  gracious  and  merciful  One. 
This  is  the  mode  of  God's  dwelling  among  His  people.     But  His 
people  appear  before  Him  with  the  light  kindled  by  Him  in  the 
holy  candlestick — with  the  incense  of  prayer  upon  the  altar  of 
incense — with  the  nourishment  well-pleasing  to  God,  the  virtues 
which  are  acceptable  in  His  sight,  typified  in  the  shew-bread. 
All  these  things  remind  the  Israelites  what  manner  of  people 
they  ought  to  be  when  they  desire  to  come  before  God,  and  what 


EXODUS  XXV.  2-7.  311 

they  really  loill  be  if  tliey  serve  Him  in  the  riglit  way.  But  as 
yet  the  way  into  the  Holy  of  holies  is  closed  by  a  curtain,  and 
only  once  a  year  does  the  high  priest  enter  therein  with  the 
blood  of  atonement.  This  is  the  point  on  which  the  typical 
meaning  of  the  sanctuary  turns,  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
fully  explains.   Cf.  Heb.  ix. 

Ver.  2.  jUi  offering ;  or  heave-offering. — A  free  gift  oblation. 

Ver.  4.  Blue. — The  colour  which  is  taken  from  the  purple 
mussel  in  the  Mediterranean,  hyacinth-coloured. 

Scarlet. — Heb.,  "  shining  worm."  This  is  the  cochineal,  an 
insect  which  lives  on  the  holly,  also  called  kermes,  and  used  in 
dyeing. 

Fine  linen. — Heb.,  "  Schesch,"  the  whitest  and  finest  kind  of 
cotton,  called  Byssus,  the  material  of  clothing  for  the  very  rich  : 
St  Luke  xvi.  19. — The  four  materials,  therefore,  which  are 
mentioned  here  and  elsewhere  frequently,  are — worsted  dyed  in 
blue,  reddish-purple,  and  kermes,  together  with  the  finest  white 
cotton.  Blue,  a  dark  and  a  bright  red,  and  white,  are  the  four 
sacred  colours  which  have  been  imagined  to  represent  the  four 
elements — air,  earth,  fire,  and  water.  At  all  events,  the  number 
four — the  number  of  the  divisions  of  the  world,  and  of  God's 
revelations  in  the  world — is  significant. 

Goats'  hair. — Goats  in  the  East  have  black  hair,  which  is  spun 
or  woven  for  the  coverings  of  tents. 

Ver.  5.  Rams'  skins ;  i.e.,  Morocco  leather. 

Badgers'  skins. — It  seems  uncertain  whether  this  is  the  skin 
of  badgers,  which  is  seldom  used  in  the  East,  or  that  of  the  seal. 

Shittim-ioood ;  i.e.,  the  wood  of  the  Egyptian  acacia,  which 
grows  to  such  a  size  in  the  deserts  of  Egypt  and  Arabia  that 
boards  are  cut  out  of  it.  It  is  indeed  the  only  tree  in  those 
places.  It  grows  to  the  height  of  our  willows,  and  has  broad- 
spreading  boughs.  The  wood  is  very  durable,  neither  liable  to 
be  worm-eaten  or  to  decay,  and  thus  very  suitable  to  be  used  in 
the  building  and  furniture  of  the  sanctuary.  No  particular 
sie;nificance  is  to  be  attached  to  the  use  of  this  wood.  Where 
afterwards  the  "  fir-wood "  is  mentioned,  we  are  to  understand 
this  wood  of  the  acacia. 

Ver.  7.  Breastplate. — These  things  will  be  spoken  about  more 
particularly  in  the  following  chapters. 


312  EXODUS  XXV.  9-11. 

Ver.  9.  Make  it. — Moses  saw  on  the  mountain  a  pattern  of 
all  the  things  whicli  he  afterwards  caused  to  be  made.  But 
here  an  important  question  suggests  itself:  Did  Moses  imitate 
a  mere  external  pattern — did  he  copy  a  heavenly  original 
design — or  did  he,  from  understanding  that  which  these  things 
represented,  and  by  spiritual  comprehension  of  the  wonderful 
relation  between  God  and  His  people,  build  the  sanctuary? 
The  right  answer  here,  certainly,  is  to  say.  Both  are  comprised. 
In  his  intercourse  with  God,  he  attained  to  a  deep  view  into  the 
spiritual,  eternal  relations  which  existed  between  God  and  His 
people  ;  but  these  relations  were  revealed  to  him  under  the  veil 
of  type  and  emblem,  which  veil  neither  he  nor  any  Israelite  could 
altogether  take  away.  Many  thousands  were  kept  by  such  out- 
ward service,  with  its  minute  details,  in  a  certain  external  dis- 
cipline and  reverence  towards  sacred  things,  without  entering 
into  their  meaning  (the  Jews,  Philo  and  Josephus,  in  the 
time  of  the  apostles,  had  altogether  lost  the  key  to  it) ;  while 
the  really  spiritually-minded  found  a  continually  elevating 
employment  for  heart  and  spirit  in  the  beautiful  and  ap- 
propriate symbols,  which  so  harmonised  with  the  doctrinal 
teaching  of  the  Word.  And  even  for  him  who  understood 
perfectly  the  meaning  of  all  the  figures  and  emblems,  to  be- 
hold such  things, — to  hear  and  speak  by  means  of  symbols 
was  an  absolute  necessity,  as  is  now  the  case,  even  after  the 
substance  has  come  in  the  place  of  the  shadow  of  heavenly 
"  good  things." 

Ver.  10.  Arh. — The  ark  of  the  covenant  was  the  principal 
thing  in  the  Holy  of  holies.  As  an  ark  or  chest,  it  had  no  par- 
ticular significance,  but  derived  its  importance  from  the  tables 
of  the  law  which  it  contained.  It  was  a  chest  of  ordinary  wood, 
surrounded  by  a  crown  of  gold  for  ornament.  The  tables  are 
the  groundwork  of  the  whole  relation  betwixt  God  and  His 
people — His  witness  to  them,  the  declaration  of  His  will,  and 
His  testimony  against  them  in  their  transgressions. 

Height. — The  length  of  a  cubit  we  may  most  naturally  sup- 
pose to  be  the  length  of  the  arm,  as  far  as  the  elbow — whence 
the  measure  originally  was  derived. 

Ver.  11.  Overlay. — To  be  understood  of  thin  gold  plates 
placed  on  it,  not  of  gilding,  after  our  manner. 


EXODUS  XXV.  12-20.  313 

Crown. — A  rim  of  gold  on  the  upper  edge  for  ornament;  per- 
haps, also,  to  strengthen  the  lid. 

Yer.  12.  Corners. — Ileb.,  "  its  four  feet."  The  ark  had  there- 
fore feet  on  which  it  rested,  as  appears  fitting,  in  order  that  it 
might  stand  more  firmly  and  might  not  touch  the  ground.  By 
this  means  also  it  was  more  conspicuous  when  carried  by  the 
rings  fastened  in  the  four  feet. 

Ver.  15.  Taken. — In  order  to  prevent  the  ark  being  touched 
by  human  hands. 

Yer.  17.  Pare  gold. — This  cover  of  reconciliation  (Kapporeth) 
over  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  the  most  important  and  sacred 
of  all  that  was  in  the  sanctuary — the  centre  of  the  whole  king- 
dom of  God  in  the  O.  T.  The  more  prominent  we  observe  this 
to  be,  the  more  significant  appears  the  circumstance,  that  in  His 
chief  revelation  of  Himself  in  the  O.  T.,  God  appears  as  requir- 
ing atonement  and  as  reisonciled.  Of  this  atonement  especial 
mention  is  made  Lev.  xvi.  The  mercy-seat  is  not  to  be  regarded 
as  a  supj)lcment  to  the  ark,  but  has  its  independent  meaning, 
even  if  it  stands  in  close  connection  with  the  other.  Therefore 
the  Lord  begins  afresh,  "  Thou  shalt  make,"  etc.  Over  this 
mercy-seat  stand  two  cherubim  :  between  and  above  them  is 
the  Lord  enthroned:  Ps.  Ixxx.  1.  The  covering  is  called  pro- 
pitiathig  cover  or  mercy-seat,  because  its  principal  meaning  was 
seen  on  the  day  of  atonement.  The  cherubim  (cf.  Gen.  iii.  24) 
are  the  representation  of  what  is  most  glorious  in  the  creation. 
There  must  be  two  of  them,  as  one  might  easily  have  been  taken 
for  an  image  of  God,  and  at  the  same  time  to  signify  that  the 
plurality  of  the  creature  has  its  unity  in  the  Creator.  Above 
that,  therefore,  which  the  whole  heathen  world  at  that  time 
worshipped  under  various  forms — above  the  most  glorious  beings 
of  the  wdioie  creation — is  God  enthroned  :  the  most  glorious  crea- 
tures are  but  the  supporters  of  His  throne  :  they  turn  their  faces 
one  to  the  other,  that  they  may  alway  behold  the  Lord  and  do 
Him  honour.  The  Holy  of  holies  is  called,  after  this  throne  of 
God,  "  the  house  or  place  of  the  mercy-seat,"  1  Chron.  xxviii. 
11.  From  this  place,  between  and  above  the  cherubim,  did  God 
reveal  Himself  to  Moses,  ver.  22. 

Yer.  20.  Clieruhims  he. — The  cherubim  have  already  been 
mentioned,  Gen.  iii.  24,  as  the  guardians  of  the  garden  of  Eden 


314  EXODUS  XXV.  20. 

after  the  fall.  Their  form  is  nowhere  distinctly  described — 
most  fully,  Ezek.  i.  10.  It  seems,  from  the  passage  before  us 
(ver.  20),  that  the  cherubim  on  the  mercy-seat  had  only  one  face 
and  wing,  while  in  the  temple  of  Ezekiel  they  have  two  faces, 
turned  towards  the  two  sides,  the  one  of  a  man,  the  other  of  a 
lion ;  but  in  Ezekiel's  vision,  ch.  i.,  they  have  four  faces — of  a 
man,  of  a  lion,  of  an  ox,  of  an  eagle.  In  the  Revelation  of  St 
John  they  appear  as  four  distinct  living  beings.  Among  many 
Eastern  nations  we  find  the  forms  of  beasts  joined  together.  The 
most  known  were  the  Egyptian  sphinxes,  with  the  head  of  a 
man  and  body  of  a  lion.  These  bore,  no  doubt,  the  nearest  re- 
semblance to  the  cherubim.  If  they  resembled  these,  we  may 
suppose  the  cherubs  to  have  had  one  face — to  have  been  forms 
with  the  countenance  of  a  man,  the  neck  and  mane  of  a  lion,  the 
body  and  feet  of  an  ox,  and  the  wings  of  an  eagle. — Among  all 
Eastern  nations  there  is  a  fulness  of  thought  in  their  religious 
creations,  v/hich  does  not  succeed  in  making  a  perfect  and  beauti- 
ful figure, — nay,  often  only  '  affords  a  representation  of  form 
which,  if  actually  copied  (as  in  the  instance  of  many  of  the  pro- 
phetic visions),  would  be  revolting  to  our  ideas  ;  while  the 
Greeks,  who  attain  to  their  notion  of  heavenly  things  from 
earthly,  never  sacrifice  the  beauty  of  the  human  form  to  the 
religious  thought.  For  this  reason,  as  is  clear  from  what  has 
been  said  above,  the  cherubim — as  represented  in  the  taber- 
nacle, afterwards  in  the  temple,  and  further  in  the  visions  of 
Ezekiel  and  the  Kevelation  of  St  John — have  made  different 
impressions  on  the  minds  of  the  readers  as  to  what  was  their 
real  shape,  while  the  main  idea  appears  to  be  the  same  in  them 
all.  The  significant  /o?<?'fold  form  also  has  never  been  want- 
ing, even  where  it  is  not  expressly  mentioned. 

As  regards  their  signification,  the  meaning  of  all  such  emble- 
matic figures  is,  that  they  denote  an  union  of  the  powers  and 
qualities  of  the  creatures  out  of  which  they  are  formed.  The 
sphinxes  in  Egypt  represent  the  qualities  of  the  deities  before 
whose  temples  they  lie,  or  of  the  kings,  who  are  regarded  as 
incarnate  gods.  But  here  a  distinction  is  to  be  made  between 
the  signification  of  the  Israelitish  figures  and  the  heathen.  The 
former  unite  the  highest  things  in  creation — the  thinking  man  ; 
the  soaring,  far-seeing  eagle ;   the  powerful  lion ;   the  useful, 


EXODUS  XXV.  20.  315 

beneficent  ox.  But  in  tliis  union  they  still  only  represent  what 
is  highest  in  creation,  the  highest  created  beings,  typifying  by 
their  fourfold  form  the  divisions  of  the  world,  the  four  winds,  or 
the  four  portions  of  the  globe.  And  the  fact  is  very  significant, 
that  at  the  beginning  man  was  appointed  to  dress  the  garden  of 
Eden  and  to  keep  it  (Gen.  ii.  15);  but  when  man  had  fallen, 
then  the  Lord  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  cheru- 
bims,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life  :  Gen.  iii.  24.  The 
highest  beings  in  creation  came  in  the  stead  of  man.  The  blessed 
home  of  the  first  man,  and  the  office  originally  committed  to 
him,  is  now  transferred  to  higher  beings,  and  Paradise  itself  re- 
moved from  earth  to  the  invisible  world.  These  cherubim  on 
the  mercy-seat  showed  the  immeasurable  distance  between  the 
highest  created  being,  nay,  the  whole  creation,  and  the  Creator 
Himself,  whose  throne  they  bear,  and  to  whom  they  pay  honour. 
The  figures  wrought  in  the  tabernacle  and  the  temple  remind 
men  that  the  Church  of  God  on  earth  is  to  be  regarded  as  one  with 
the  Church  in  heaven,  and  that  in  the  sanctuary  the  Church 
invisible  is  joined  wath  the  visible  in  celebrating  the  worship  of 
God. — That  there  are  really  higher  beings,  just  such  as  the 
cherubim  are  represented — that  these  are  angels — can  nowhere 
be  shown  from  Holy  Scripture.  The  emblematic  figures  of 
animals  are  only  the  outward  expression  of  the  Divine  idea, 
which  no  single  form  of  earth  can  as  yet  adequately  represent. 
The  name  "angel,"  messenger,  is  not  at  all  suitable  to  the 
cherubim,  as  they  are  not  spoken  of  in  Holy  Scripture  as 
despatched  to  do  God's  commands,  but  as  the  bearers  of 
His  throne  or  His  chaiiot,  inseparable  from  His  appearing. 
And  quite  as  little  can  it  be  shown  that  they  are  not  real 
existences,  only  creatures  of  the  imagination,  since,  though 
their  outward  shape  may  have  some  resemblance  to  the  Egyp- 
tian and  Persian  figures,  yet  is  the  main  idea  of  their  being 
quite  dissimilar.  We  are  justified  in  regarding  them  as  the 
very  highest  of  created  beings,  wdio,  in  God's  immediate  pre- 
sence, receive  His  most  perfect  revelations,  and  combine  in 
themselves  the  glory  of  the  whole  creation,  as  those  to  whom 
God  has  intrusted  the  blessed  home  of  the  human  race,  until 
man,  restored  to  his  original  purity,  can  again  take  possession 
of  it. 


316  EXODUS  XXV.  22-29. 

Ver.  22.  Meet.— The  word  denotes  "  I  will  place  Myself  there, 
as  I  have  agreed  and  promised." 

Ver.  23.  Table. — The  distinguishing  mark  of  the  table  was 
the  shew-bread  which  was  to  be  laid  on  it.  The  people  of 
Israel  Avere  not  to  appear  empty  before  the  Lord,  but  to  do  Him 
homage  after  the  manner  of  the  Eastern  nations  (ch.  xxiii.  15)  : 
it  was  therefore  enjoined  that  they  should,  figuratively,  bring  a 
gift  for  the  table  of  the  Lord  in  the  tabernacle  (as  was  done  to 
earthly  kings :  Gen.  xlix.  20 ;  1  Kings  iv.  7).  For  this  cause 
they  were  bidden  to  place  continually  before  the  Lord  twelve 
loaves,  after  the  number  of  the  tribes.  Together  with  these 
loaves,  there  were  on  the  table  bowls  of  wine  (ver.  29).  Thus 
the  people  offered  perpetually  before  the  Lord  bread  and  wine, 
the  main  representatives  of  the  gifts  of  His  creation.  "  Side  by 
side  with  the  prayer,  '  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,'  and  the 
promise  on  which  it  rests,  runs  the  command,  Give  Me  daily 
My  daily  bread,  as  God  never  asks  without  giving,  and  never 
gives  without  asldng.  This  command  is  complied  with  when  the 
Church  of  God  offers  that  to  which  He  has  o;iven  strength,  bless- 
ing,  and  continuance." — (Hengstenberg.)  By  the  shew-bread 
was  the  people  reminded  to  hallow — by  a  daily  offering  the  bread 
and  wine,  the  fruits  of  the  earth  procured  by  the  sweat  of  the 
brow — their  whole  earthly  life  to  God  ;  i.e.,  by  a  holy  life  to  do 
that  which  is  well-pleasing  to  God. 

Ver.  25.  Border. — This  might  be  the  border  under  the  sur- 
face of  the  table  which  joined  the  four  feet. 

Ver.  29.  Ifake  tJwn. — The  first  word,  "  dishes,"  signifies  the 
vessel  in  which  the  food  was  carried.  The  loaves  were  laid  on  them. 
The  second  word,  "spoons,"  is  literally  "hollow  hands;"  an  utensil 
therefore  of  this  form,  probably  for  the  incense :  Lev.  xxiv.  7.  The 
two  last  vessels,  "covers"  and  "bowls,"  appear  intended  for 
wine — the  covers,  or  larger  deep  bowls  ;  and  the  bowls,  smaller 
drinking-cups.  To  both  these  the  words,  "  to  pour  out  withal," 
belong  (as  in  margin  of  Engl.  Bible) — "  bring  a  drink-ofiering." 
A¥e  see,  therefore,  from  the  vessels,  that  besides  the  shew-bread, 
there  was  also  wine  on  the  table  ;  and  that  a  di'ink-offering  was 
made  therefrom,  perhaps  when  the  priests  changed  the  bread  on 
the  Sabbath  day,  and  ate  the  old  loaves  :  Lev.  xxiv.  8,  9,  There 
is  no  further  mention  of  this  elsewhere  :  cf.  1  Kings  vii.  50. 


EXODUS  XXV.  34-40;   XXVI.  1.  317 

Ver.  34.  Candlestick. — Therefore  the  candlestick  itself,  the  stem 
from  which  the  four  branches  separated,  was  to  have  four  bowls, 
each  with  knop  and  flower. 

Ver.  35.  Candlestick. — So  under  every  two  branches,  which 
separated  on  the  two  sides  from  one  point  of  the  stem,  was  a 
knop  which  bound  the  two  together. 

Ver.  37.  Against  it. — The  burning  lamps  were  all  to  be  turned 
to  the  front,  that  they  might  lighten  that  which  was  opposite  to 
the  candlestick.  On  every  branch,  and  on  the  fourfold  orna- 
mented stem,  was  there  a  lamp  casting  its  light  in  front. 

Ver.  38.  Snuffers. — Into  which  to  throw  the  refuse. 

Ver.  40.  Showed. — Cf.  ver.  9,  note. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  sanctuaiy  is  called  hero  and  in  the  following  chap,  a 
dwelling — tabernacle.  It  was  the  dwelling-place  or  tent  of  God 
among  His  people,  who  themselves  lived,  like  other  nomadic 
tribes,  in  tents.  It  was  needful,  therefore,  that  they  should  have 
such  a  portable  sanctuary.  Like  most  nomadic  tents,  it  had  two 
divisions,  separated  by  a  curtain,  and  the  whole  was  covered 
with  the  usual  roofing  for  tents.  This  kind  of  tabernacle  was 
most  suitable  to  the  manner  of  life  and  the  wants  of  the  Israelites 
at  that  time.  The  magnificence  of  its  furniture  and  utensils 
served  for  the  glorification  of  Him  to  whom  every  Israelite  was 
prepared  to  offer  his  best.  The  sources  of  their  great  wealth  in 
precious  stones,  and  the  artistic  skill  presupposed  in  the  erection 
of  such  a  building,  have  been  pointed  out  in  the  beginning  of 
this  book. 

Ver.  1.  Curtains. — Four  kinds  of  coverings  of  the  tabernacle 
are  mentioned  here,  ver.  7  and  ver.  14.  The  first  forms  the 
"dwelling-place;"  the  second,  of  goats'  hair,  is  afterwards  called 
"  the  tent  above  the  dwelling-place."  The  costly  and  highly 
wrought  covering  of  finest  linen  (byssus,  schesch,  cf.  ch.  xxv.  4, 
note),  and  of  three  coloured  materials — blue,  red,  purple  and 


318  EXODUS  XXVI.  G-U. 

kermes,  i.  e.,  scarlet — with  clierubim  woven  in,  formed  the  inner 
hangings,  and  was  to  be  seen  on  the  side-walls  and  ceiling ;  the 
second  one  of  goats'  hair  hung  above  it,  on  the  outside  of  this 
first  covering ;  the  third  and  the  fourth  served  the  purpose  of 
protection  from  wind  and  rain.  In  like  manner,  afterwards,  the 
cherubim  were  depicted  on  the  side-walls  of  the  temple. 

Ver.  6.  One  tabernacle. — This  covering,'  therefore,  consisted  of 
two  great  equal  parts,  which  were  united  by  loops  or  rings  and 
hooks,  each  part  being  composed  of  five  curtains.  The  breadth 
and  the  height  were  ten  cubits  each ;  but  the  length  of  the  cur- 
tain twenty-eight  cubits,  two  cubits  short  of  the  thirty,  probably 
because  it  did  not  quite  reach  to  the  •  bottom.  The  curtains 
were  joined  lengthways,  each  four  cubits  broad ;  so  that  the 
whole  five  were  twenty  cubits  in  breadth,  which  was  the  length 
of  the  holy  place.  The  two  great  parts — the  five  and  five  cur- 
tains— reached  to  the  veil  which  separated  the  holy  place  from 
the  Holy  of  holies.  The  Holy  of  holies  was  about  ten  cubits 
shorter  tlian  the  holy  place ;  and  as  the  five  curtains,  twenty 
cubits  in  breadth,  w^ould  be  likewise  affixed  to  this  part,  it  would 
seem  that  the  last  ten  cubits  hung  down  the  hind-wall  of  the 
Holy  of  holies  in  folds. 

Ver.  7.  Goats'  hair. — Goats'  hair  was  formerly,  and  is  at  pre- 
sent, a  material  often  used  in  the  East  for  tent-coverings.  It 
seems  that  here  the  shining  white  hair  of  the  goat  of  Angora  is 
to  be  understood,  since  this  covering  was  part  of  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  sanctuary,  and  did  not  serve  for  a  defence  against 
weather. 

Ver.  9.  Fore-front. — The  difierence  between  this  and  the 
other  covering  spoken  of  before  was,  that  instead  of  ten  curtains 
divided  into  two  main  parts  of  five  each,  there  were  eleven  ;  five 
belonged  to  the  hinder,  six  to  the  fore-part :  of  these  latter,  this 
sixth  curtain  was  doubled  and  wrapped  over,  and  might  possibly 
be  for  the  purpose  of  ornament  over  the  entrance.  Moreover 
the  length  of  this  curtain  was  thirty,  instead  of  twenty-eight 
cubits,  which  still  were  not  sufficient  on  account  of  the  thickness 
of  the  boards  (of  which  more  hereafter)  ;  so  that  it  likewise  on 
both  ends  fell  a  cubit  short  of  the  ground. 

Ver.  11.  May  he  one. — This  was,  therefore,  likewise  above  the 
veil  which  separated  the  two  divisions  of  the  tabernacle ;  and  of 


EXODUS  XXVI.  13-31.  319 

the  forty  cubits  of  the  hindmost  curtain,  nearly  the  half  hung 
down  the  outer  hind-wall  in  folds. 

Ver.  13.  Cover  it. — The  covering  of  goats'  liair  was  to  hang 
down  behind,  so  that  the  overhanging  curtain  hid  the  corners. 

Ver.  14.  Badgers'  shins,  or  seal  skin,  as  ch.  xxv.  5. 

Ver.  15.  Standing  up. — The  boards  were  planks,  or  beams, 
a  cubit  thick.  The  Greek  translation  calls  them  "  pillars," 
arvXoi. 

Ver.  19.  Tioo  tenons. — Under  every  board  or  beam  were 
placed  two  silver  pedestals,  with  holes  into  which  the  tenons  or 
hands  of  the  beam  were  fixed.  These  appear  to  have  been 
level  with  the  floor,  into  which,  indeed,  they  were  fastened. 
Perhaps  they  were  sharpened  on  the  ends  ;  otherwise  the  building- 
would  not  have  stood  firm,  or  been  raised  enough.  All  this  w^as 
a  part  of  that  reverent  propriety  which  took  care  that  the  beams 
themselves  should  not  touch  the  earth,  or  be  exposed  to  any  de- 
filement from  beneath,  but  with  these  silver  sockets  should  rest 
on  their  own  framework. 

Ver.  24.  Coupled  together. — Heb. :  "  And  they  shall  be  coupled 
(properly  twins) from  beneath,  and  together  shall  they  be  coupled 
each  one  up  to  his  head,  to  a  ring ;  thus  shall  it  be  to  them  both,  to 
the  two  corners  shall  they  be."  As  the  entire  length  of  the 
tabernacle  (from  within)  was  thirty,  the  breadth  ten  cubits  ;  but 
behind  were  six  boards,  each  a  cubit  and  half  broad,  together 
nine  cubits — in  addition,  the  two  boards  at  the  corners,  both  toge- 
ther three  cubits — so  that  the  breadth  of  the  tabernacle  outside 
was  twelve  cubits  :  of  this,  two  cubits  are  to  be  taken  off  for  the 
inner  room,  as  every  board  was  a  cubit  thick.  The  expression, 
that  they  should  be  twins,  must  mean  that  their  connection  was  a 
double  one.  They  belonged  more  particularly  to  the  hinder 
wall ;  but  from  their  thickness,  to  the  side-wall  also,  and  below 
and  above  where  they  met,  were  they  joined  together  by  means 
of  a  ring  with  the  boards  of  the  side-wall. 

Ver.  28.  End  to  end;  i.e.,  one  bar  was  to  go  right  through  ; 
the  other  four  probably  only  halfway  each,  so  that  three  bars  kept 
the  boards  together. 

Ver.  31.  Cheruhims. — Wherever  the  eye  rested  in  the  sanc- 
tuary, it  beheld  the  figures  of  the  cherubim.  On  eveiy  side  the 
worshipper  found  himself  in  the  presence  of  the  highest  of  God's 


320  EXODUS  XXVI.  32-37. 

creatures  wlio  worship  before  the  throne,  Avho  are  the  guardians 
of  Eden.  From  the  outside  nothing  of  these  cherubim  was 
visible  :  hence  their  significance  is  most  clear. 

Ver.  32.  Hooks.' — For  fastening  the  veil.  As  no  mention  is 
made  of  rods  on  Avhich  to  roll  the  veil,  we  may  suppose  that  the 
high  priest,  when  he  entered  within,  removed  it.  This  would  not 
be  difficult,  as  it  was  made  of  such  fine  material. 

Ver.  33.  Under  the  taches ;  namely,  those  which  are  described, 
ver.  6 — the  golden  hooks  whereby  the  two  greater  divisions  of 
the  curtains  were  fastened  together. 

Ver.  35.  North  side. — The  candlestick  and  the  table,  there- 
fore, stood  on  the  two  sides,  the  altar  of  incense  in  the  middle  of 
the  holy  place.  If  the  candlestick  with  its  shaft  and  branches 
stood  parallel  with  the  veil,  and  of  equal  height  and  breadth 
with  the  table  (whose  height  is  not  given ) — the  altar,  which  was 
of  far  greater  height,  in  the  middle,  the  lamps  casting  their  light 
in  front, — then  the  impression  on  the  person  entering  must  have 
been  a  beautiful  and  elevating  one.  The  whole  aspect  of  the 
interior  seemed  to  call  upon  him,  in  the  midst  of  God's  highest 
creatures  who  surround  His  throne,  to  come  before  the  Lord 
anointed  with  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  enlightened 
by  His  grace  to  come  watli  the  offering  of  a  holy  life — above  all, 
with  the  incense  of  heartfelt  prayer. 

Ver.  36.  Hanging. — The  material  was  the  same  as  that  of  the 
veil  of  the  Holy  of  holies ;  but  the  cherubs  were  wanting,  for  the 
reason  mentioned  ver.  31. 

Ver.  37.  Brass,  instead  of  silver,  as  in  the  pillars  of  the  veil  of 
the  Holy  of  holies,  ver.  32.  The  pillars,  without  doubt,  stood 
within,  as  also  the  beams  of  the  tabernacle  were  not  visible  fi.*om 
the  outside. 


EXODUS  XXVII.  321 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Before  tlie  sanctuary,  in  tlie  fore-court,  stood  the  great  altar 
of  burnt-offcrincT,  so  called  in  distinction  from  the  altar  of  incense 
within  the  tabernacle.  Even  in  very  early  times  we  find  men- 
tion of  the  erection  of  an  altar  on  the  occasion  of  a  solemn  sacri- 
fice, or  a  covenant  being  made  :  Gen.  viii.  20.  These  were 
made,  as  appears  from  ch.  xx.  24,  25,  of  earth,  or  unwrought 
stone  :  see  note  there.  They  were  erected  most  usually  on  a 
mountain, — on  which,  for  example,  Abraham  was  commanded  to 
sacrifice.  Gen.  xxii.  2,  where  Balaam  sacrificed,  where  the  temple 
was  built.  So  likewise,  in  after  times,  Israel  offered  sacrifices  on 
the  "  high  places  ;"  and  the  heathen  nations  for  the  most  part 
made  sacrifice  on  mountains  in  general,  or  on  some  specified 
sacred  mountain,  and  almost  everywhere  the  name  ''  altar"  signi- 
fies a  height,  or  raising  up  (Bomos  [B&^,<Aog],  from  bao,  is  equi- 
valent to  a  base,  a  height;  altar  itself  from  altus).  On  such  a 
place  the  sacrificer,  while  on  earth,  was  raised  nearer  to  heaven. 
And  thus  likewise  on  the  altar,  the  place  raised  from  the  earth 
and  on  the  earth,  was  put  the  victim  for  sacrifice  to  God. 
Hence  ascended  the  flame  and  the  smoke  of  the  sacrifice,  a  sweet 
savour  unto  God,  typical  of  a  spiritual  offering.  But  all  this 
happens  only  in  the  case  where  God,  by  the  revelation  of  His 
grace  and  mercy,  has  been  man's  guide.  The  erection  of  altars 
on  high  places  without  express  direction  was  in  later  times  for- 
bidden, as  in  these  man  thought,  in  his  notions  of  self-righteous- 
ness, of  doing  God  service  without  the  intervention  of  any  cove- 
nant of  grace. — From  what  is  gone  before,  we  can  explain  the 
four-cornered  shape  of  the  altar  as  of  the  sanctuary  :  it  is  typical 
of  the  world — a  part  separated  by  God,  and  representing  the 
whole.  On  this,  sin,  which  has  been  committed  on  earth,  is  on 
earth  to  be  expiated.  Hence  the  material  of  the  altar  to  be 
earth  or  unhewn  stone.  The  altar  stood  before  the  tabernacle, 
to  signify  that  entrance  into  communion  with  God  was  only  to 
be  obtained  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  covenant.  Here  must  every 
sin  (typically)  be  removed,  every  vow  paid,  before  the  Church 
on  earth  could  unite  in  a  holy  service  with  the  Church  hi  lieaven. 

X 


322  ■  EXODUS  XXVII.  1-9. 

Ver.  1.  Shittim-xiiood. — See  eh.  xxv.,  note. 

Ver.  2.  Of  the  same. — These  words  signify  that  the  four  horns 
were  not  made  separately  and  then  put  on,  but  made  out  of  one 
piece  with  the  brass  covering.  It  is  evident  that  these  horns 
were  not  merely  for  ornament,  but  had  an  important  typical 
meaning,  from  the  circumstance  that  at  the  sacrifice  of  atone- 
ment the  priest  was  to  put  the  blood  on  the  horns  of  the  altar 
(ch.  xxix.  12),  and  also  that  persons  who  fled  to  the  altar  for 
refuge  laid  hold  on  the  horns  thereof  (1  Kings  i.  10).  The 
horn,  as  the  offensive  and  defensive  weapon  of  animals,  was  an 
emblem  of  strength  (hence  "  horn  of  my  salvation,"  Ps.  xviii.  3). 
Horns  were  used  to  express  rays  of  light :  hence  a  horn  was  an 
emblem  of  glory.  The  horns,  formed  out  of  one  piece  with  the 
altar  itself,  the  emblem  of  strength  and  glory,  the  refuge  of  fugi- 
tives, represented  in  the  highest  degree  the  very  character  of  the 
altar  itself;  and  so,  according  to  Jewish  tradition,  without  the 
horns  the  wdiole  value  at  once  was  lost :  the  altar  ceased  to  exist. 

Ver.  5.  Comjyass. — The  altar  had  in  the  middle  a  compass,  a 
board  covered  with  brass.  From  the  extremities  of  this  was  a 
grate  of  network  of  brass.  This  compass  served  for  the  func- 
tions performed  on  the  altar. 

Ver.  8.  Holloiv. — The  altar,  therefore,  was  a  mass  of  earth, 
which  was  placed  in  a  hollow  framework  of  boards  covered  over 
with  brass  as  often  as  the  framework  was  laid  down.  The  main 
part  of  the  altar  w^as  the  earth,  which,  as  ch.  xx.  24  shows,  was 
put  into  it,  while  the  framework  only  served  the  purpose  of  giv- 
ing it  a  distinct  and  becoming  shape.  The  frame  of  boards  was 
three  cubits  high  ;  at  the  height  of  a  cubit  and  half  there  ran  a 
compass  a  way  round  (how  broad  it  was  is  not  known),  and  from 
this  the  network  descended,  and  covered  the  lower  half.  The 
ascent  was  made  not  by  steps  (according  to  ch.  xx.  26),  but  pro- 
bably by  a  mound  of  earth. 

Ver.  9.  Court. — Around  the  sanctuary  w^as  a  court  in  which 
the  people  offered  up  their  service  to  God.  The  way  into  the 
holy,  and  still  more  into  the  holy  of  holies,  was  closed  to  the 
people.  They  could  only  enter  the  holy  place  through  the 
priests,  their  consecrated  mediators;  and  these,  again,  could  enter 
the  holy  of  holies  only  through  the  high  priest.  The  people  sacri- 
ficed in  the  fore-court  by  means  of  the  priests,  and  prayed  with 
them  if  they  offered  incense.     In  this  fore-court,  besides  the  altar 


EXODUS  XXVII.  11-21.  323 

of  bunit-ofFcring  spoken  of  above,  was  the  "  laver  of  brass,"  de- 
scribed ch.  XXX.  17-21. 

Hangings. — Tliis  word  is  translated  in  the  kindred  dialects, 
and  in  the  Greek  version,  "  sails." 

Ver.  11.  Hooks. — The  hangings  were  fastened  to  the  pillars 
with  silver  nails ;  but,  besides  this,  they  were  bound  together  by 
fillets,  i.e.,  poles  of  silver.  The  pillars  were,  no  doubt,  made  of 
acacia- wood,  as  those  ch.  xxvi.  37. 

Ver.  16.  Gate. — The  entrance  to  the  tabernacle  and  to  the 
court  was  on  the  east  side.  Here  was  the  wall,  with  the  pillars 
and  hangings,  only  fifteen  cubits  broad  on  each  side.  There  re- 
mained therefore  twenty  cubits  in  the  middle  for  the  doorway, 
which  was  closed  with  a  curtain  (the  colours  as  ch.  xxv.  4). 

Ver.  19.  Brass. — That  is,  every  kind  of  instrument  used  in 
its  erection  which  has  not  been  particularly  described — especially 
the  tent-pegs  to  which  the  ropes  were  fastened,  which  in  a  storm 
served  to  keep  its  balance, — whatever  was  used  in  the  sanc- 
tuary, or  in  the  pillars  of  tlie  court,  should  all  be  of  brass. 

Ver.  20.  Oil. — Oil,  which  gives  light  and  refresiies  and  in- 
vigorates the  body,  is  an  oft-recui-ring  emblem  in  the  O.  T.  for 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  source  of  life  and  light,  with  whom  God 
anoints  especially  His  serv^ants  in  the  O.  T. — all  His  children  in 
the  N.  T.  With  this  emblematic  oil  were  the  seven  lamps  on 
the  holy  candlestick  to  be  continually  supplied.  Olive  oil  was 
reckoned  the  purest.  It  was  to  be  beaten  in  a  mortar,  not 
ground  in  a  mill,  that  it  might  be  as  fine  as  possible. 

Ver.  21.  Congregation. — This  is  the  first  place  in  the  text 
where  this  expression  occurs.  It  means  "  tent  of  tlie  (appointed) 
meeting."  The  sense  of  this  word  is  explained,  ch.  xxv.  22  ;  but 
more  particularly,  ch.  xxix.  42,  "  At  the  door  of  the  tabernacle, 
wdierc  1  will  meet  you,  to  speak  there  with  you."  It  is  the  place 
of  God's  revelation  of  Himself  on  the  one  liand,  and  of  the 
people's  commiuiion  with  God  in  worship  on  the  other  (not  of 
assembling  of  the  people).  This  communion  is  derived  from  an 
appointment,  an  ordinance,  a  promise  on  God's  part.  The  old 
Greek  version  incorrectly  gives  it,  "  tent  of  the  witness,  or  testi- 
mony." "  It  means,"  says  Luther,  "  a  place  like  a  church, 
where  the  people  might  assemble  to  hear  God's  word,  not  run 
hither  and  thither  on  mountains,  etc.,  to  sacrifice  to  God." 

0  rder  it. — In  the  holy  place  it  was  dark,  with  tlie  exception 


324  EXODUS  XXVIII. 

of  this  light :  in  tlie  holy  of  holies  there  was  no  light  at  all.  It 
is  not  here  said  that  the  lamps  on  the  candlestick  were  always 
lighted,  as  ch.  xxx.  7  and  1  Sam.  iii.  3  (cf.  2  Chron.  xiii.  11) 
seem  to  prove  that  they  were  extinguished  in  the  morning. 
According  to  Josephus,  the  middle  lamp  and  two  on  the  side 
burnt  by  day  also.  But  this  might  be  a  custom  more  lately  in- 
troduced. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  command  is  now  given  to  make  Aaron  and  his  sons 
priests,  and  to  prepare  vestments  of  office,  which  accordingly  are 
minutely  described.  Every  religion,  however  disfigured  by  error 
and  sin,  awakens  in  men's  hearts  a  consciousness  of  alienation 
from  God,  and  a  feeling  of  the  necessity  of  reconciliation  to  Him. 
But  everywhere  the  efforts  of  man  to  draw  near  to  God,  depend 
on  an  act  of  drawing  nigh  on  God's  part — on  a  revelation  of  the 
creating,  sustaining,  blessing  influence  on  man.  This  power  in 
the  heathen  religions  was  shown  in  the  regular  recurrence  of 
natural  events  which  were  interwoven  with  their  history.  With 
the  people  of  Israel,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  declared  in  the 
covenant  which  God  makes  with  His  chosen  ones,  in  order  that 
He  may  sanctify  them  to  Himself,  by  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
Him.  Among  all  nations  of  antiqiiity,  we  find  that  a  certain 
order,  sometimes  an  hereditary  caste,  is  the  channel  by  which 
this  relationship  betwixt  God  and  His  people  is  carried  on  ;  and 
that  it  is  regarded  by  God  as  chosen  and  consecrated  to  that  office. 
But,  as  all  intellectual  energy,  all  laws  and  institutions,  had 
their  source  in  religion,  in  the  surrender  of  man  to  God,  and  the 
consciousness  of  dependence  on  Him,  and  were  engendered  by 
religion,  we  naturally  find  in  the  early  state  of  society  and  of 
political  life — as,  for  example,  when  a  people  emerge  out  of  the 
patriarchal,  pastoral  life,  the  age  of  unconscious  childhood, — that 
a  priestly  class  stands  at  the  head  of  social  order,  exercises  more 
or  less  influence  over  it,  and,  from  being  in  possession  of  all 
the  wisdom  and  learning  of  the  day,  acts  as  the  soul  in  the  poli- 
tical body.  Everything  which  contributes  to  overcome  natural 
hindrances,  to  unravel  social  difficulties,  to  promote  an  orderly 


EXODUS  XXVIII.  325 

and  happy  life  in  a  country  which,  though  fertile,  requires 
laborious  cultivation, — all  this  proceeds  from  the  priestly  class, 
which,  by  a  Divine  law  committed  to  it  (a  portion  of  the  general 
law  of  the  universe),  points  out  to  every  one,  from  tlie  king  to 
the  lowest  slave,  his  place  among  the  people.  At  the  very  time 
when  the  Israelites  were  passing  from  the  patriarchal  and  pas- 
toral to  the  national  life,  they  were  sojourning  among  the  most 
cultivated  people  of  the  ancient  world,  the  whole  of  whose 
existence  in  the  productive  valley  of  the  Nile  (which  still  re- 
quired skilful  husbandry)  was  governed  by  a  priestly  class, 
which  fixed  laws  and  regulations  for  the  most  minute  particulars 
of  daily  life.  If  the  Israelites  are  to  become  a  nation  like  the 
rest  of  the  world,  their  requirement  of  some  means  of  mediation 
with  God,  through  an  order  of  priests,  must  be  satisfied.  But 
here  is  a  great  difference  apparent  between  God's  covenanted 
people  and  the  heathen  worshippers  of  Nature.  With  all 
heathens,  the  relations  of  Nature  to  the  world  are  those  in  which 
the  priests  adjust :  observations  of  the  sun,  of  the  changes  of  the 
seasons,  of  the  ordinary  or  unusual  natural  events, — these  are  the 
matters  in  which  they  are  engaged.  For  this  reason  the  pi'iests 
invented  fables  of  a  race  of  gods,  who  represent  the  creation 
and  development  of  the  world ;  they  observed  the  course  of  the 
planets  as  the  governors  of  the  world ;  they  regulated  the  ranks 
and  order  of  life  according  to  their  laws,  and,  in  case  of  violation 
of  them,  sought  to  reduce  again  such  disorder  into  harmony  with 
the  whole.  All  this  was  effected  by  a  secret  traditional  wisdom 
which  was  preserved  in  their  order.  But  in  Israel  it  was  clearly 
announced  at  the  beginning,  that  only  sin  had  separated  between 
God  and  man,  and  that  man's  communion  with  God  depends  on  his 
holiness.  The  priestly  class,  therefore,  is  the  class  which  is  chosen 
and  sanctified  by  God,  in  order  to  bring  about  the  sanctification 
of  the  whole  people.  In  a  certain  degree,  this  sanctification  of 
the  people  had  already  begun  by  God's  choice  of  them.  So  the 
whole  people  are  called,  ch.  xix.  6,  a  kingdom  of  priests.  This 
wide  outward  severance  between  priests  and  people  is  not  there- 
fore an  eternal  division,  or  by  an  unalterable  law  of  Nature ; 
but  only  according  to  degree,  and  for  the  time  of  preparation 
until  the  people  shall  be  perfectly  sanctified.  This  sanctification, 
although  embodied  in  an  outward  worship,  and  in  minute  regu- 
lations suited  to  the  age  of  childhood  and  of  sense,  carries  with  it 


326  EXODUS  XXVIII. 

still,  as  a  soul,  holy  love,  which  not  only  requires  the  reconcilia- 
tion of  the  sinful  people,  but  likewise  graciously  brings  it  about. 
And  this  holy  love  is  revealed,  not  in  some  secret  science  and 
art,  but  in  the  written  law,  which,  while  committed  to  the  priest- 
hood for  accurate  understanding,  interpretation,  and  administra- 
tion, is  still  accessible  to  the  meanest  among  the  people.  The 
tribe  of  Levi,  although  separated  from  the  rest,  is  still  a  tribe 
loitli  the  others,  not  above  them ;  and  its  outward  privileges  were 
calculated  quite  as  much  to  humble  as  to  exalt  it.  And  even 
Moses  himself,  vA\o  was  put  over  the  whole  house  of  the  Lord, 
was  no  priest,  but  king  and  prophet ;  and  he  likewise  foretells  that 
a  Prophet  should  come  like  himself,  to  whom  the  people  will 
listen  (Dent,  xviii.  18).  Moreover,  he  appoints,  by  the  side  of 
the  priesthood,  and  in  a  certain  sense  above  it,  the  office  of  ex- 
traordinary messengers,  whose  duty  it  was  to  rebuke  the  degene- 
rate priesthood  and  people,  and  to  remind  them  of  their  duties, 
nay,  sometimes  themselves  to  exei'cise  the  priestl}^  office.  And 
as  the  time  arrived  for  the  prophetic  office  to  be  set  up  side  by 
side  with  the  priestly,  so  did  the  season  come  for  the  kingly 
office ;  thereby  severing  between  the  spiritual  and  secular.  And 
at  the  same  time  preparation  was  made  for  the  period  when  the 
ever-changing  priesthood  of  sinftil  men  should  not  altogether 
cease,  but  become  merged  into  the  everlasting  priesthood  after 
the  order  of  Melchisedek — the  order  of  the  Eternal  Mediator  and . 
Litercessor,  the  Prophet  and  King,  Jesus  Christ. 

The  priests  who  are  chosen  out  of  the  people  are  Aaron  and 
his  descendants.  But,  together  with  them,  the  rest  of  the  tribe 
of  Levi  discharged  the  less  significant,  inferior  duties.  Amona; 
these  descendants  of  Aaron,  there  was  one  particularly  dis- 
tinguished, who  at  first  is  merely  called  "  the  priest,"  or  the 
"  anointed  priest ;"  but  is  afterwards  named  "  the  high  (more 
properly  "  the  great")  priest."  This  person  alone  performs  the 
great  atonement  of  the  people  at  the  feast  of  atonement,  described 
in  detail  Lev.  xvi.  14;  likewise  unites  in  himself  the  whole 
priestly  office,  both  as  regards  its  higher  privileges  and  dignity, 
and  also  its  outward  sanctity.  He  therefore  stands  in  the  place 
of  the  whole  people  :  if  "  the  priest  who  is  anointed  do  sin,  the 
whole  people  is  guilty,"  Lev.  iv.  3  (Hebrew).  The  prophet 
(Zech.  iii.  1)  sees  the  high  priest  in  the  temple  accused  by  Satan 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  people.     This  is  the  high  priest,  whose 


EXODUS  XXVIII.  l-Io.  327 

vestments  and  official  insignia  are  here  so  especially  described. 
His  clothing  was  to  be  an  honour  and  ornament.  Their  unusual 
splendour  was  intended,  like  that  of  the  tabernacle,  to  exalt  the 
priestly  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  a  sensuous  people.  But  at  the 
same  time  this  splendour  was  likewise  full  of  significance,  and 
by  the  most  exalted  symbols  reminded  both  priests  and  people 
continually  of  the  relation  of  the  Lord  to  the  people  of  His 
covenant. 

Ver.  1.  So?is. — The  first  two  were  afterwards  slain  :  Lev. 
X.  2.  The  last  two  were  the  progenitors  of  the  priestly  family. 
Out  of  the  whole  tribe  of  priests,  the  especial  priestly  family  is 
here  chosen,  which  was  empowered  by  a  peculiar  consecration  to 
be  the  mediators  before  God  of  the  whole  people, 

Ver.  3.  Wisdom. — Just  as  was  the  case  with  the  gifts  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  Church  of  the  N.  T.,  do  we  find  in  the  O.  T.  all 
natural  gifts  employed  in  the  service  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
ascribed  to  the  Spirit  of  God.  If  they  are  truly  to  be  of  service 
in  the  kingdom  of  God,  their  sanctification  thereto  and  their 
renewal  are  needed,  by  which  they  may  become  essentially 
different  from  what  they  were  before. 

Ver.  6.  Epliod. — First  in  the  description  of  the  priestly  gar- 
ments stands  the  ephod — a  clothing  over  the  shoulders,  with 
which  was  closely  connected  the  breastplate  (Choschen).  These 
were  the  signs  of  administrative  and  judicial  dignity ;  and  yet 
not  mere  signs,  but  likewise  Divine  promises  and  pledges. 

Ver.  7.  Joined  together. — Therefore  a  short  garment  without 
sleeves,  in  which,  besides  the  four  materials  so  often  named  (blue, 
red  purple,  kermes,  and  white  byssus),  gold  threads  were  like- 
wise worked  in. 

Ver.  10.  Birth ;  i.e.,  according  to  the  ages  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob. 

Ver.  12.  ^^e)norial. — The  ephod  was  the  sign  of  the  office  of 
leadership  over  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  therefore  the  breast- 
plate (Ciioschen)  was  attached  to  it  as  a  mark  of  the  judicial 
ofiice.  The  high  priest  bears  the  children  of  Israel  on  his 
shoulders ;  i.e.,  he  rules  them.  "  The  government  shall  be  on 
His  shoulders  :"  Isa.  ix.  6. 

Ver.  13.  Ouches. — Kings  :  borders  for  the  two  onyx-stones. 

Ver.  14.  Wreatheji  chains. — The  use  of  these  appears  ver.  25. 

Ver.  15.  Breastplate. — Literally,  "the  ornament  of  justice  ;" 


328  EXODUS  XXVIII.  16-30. 

Heb.,  Cliosclien — a  four-sided  worked  pocket  or  bag,  as  will  be 
seen  in  what  follows,  covered  in  front  with  the  most  precious 
stones,  the  signs  of  the  highest  judicial  dignity. 

Ver.  16.  Doubled. — The  stuff  being  doubled  as  a  pocket,  in 
order  to  put  the  "  light  and  judgment"  in  front,  ver.  30. 

Ver.  17.  Hoiv. — The  particular  names  are  difficult  to  under- 
stand, and  are  differently  explained.  They  were  the  most  precious 
stones  then  known.  The  Israelites  had  learned  in  Egypt  the 
art  of  setting  and  engraving  stones,  where  it  had  been  known 
from  very  early  times. 

Ver.  26.  Ininard. — The  first  rings  were  fastened  above  in  the 
breastplate,  and  from  thence  they  bound  the  chains  with  the 
precious  stones  to  the  shoulders.  These  were  below  and  towards 
the  inner  part. 

Ver.  27.  Girdle. — Therefore  there,  whei'e  underneath  the 
shoulders  close  above  the  girdle  the  two  pieces  met,  these  rings 
were  to  be  inserted. 

Ver.  29.  Heart. — As  the  shoulder  carrying  burdens  denotes 
governance,  so  is  the  thinking  wise  heart  (according  to  Biblical, 
more  particularly  Old  Testament  mode  of  speaking)  the  source 
of  all  judgment  which  is  pleasing  to  God:  1  Kings  iii.  9-11. 

Ver.  30.  Continuallij. — In  the  breastplate — probably,  there- 
fore, in  the  fold  or  pocket  formed  by  the  rings — was  the  "light  and 
judgment"  (Urim  and  Thumraim)  to  be  placed.  From  the  en- 
tire silence  of  Holy  Scripture  concerning  tlie  form  of  that  wliich 
was  placed  in  it,  we  can  only  now  venture  to  conjecture  concern- 
ing its  fashion.  We  learn  from  a  number  of  places  that,  by 
means  of  this  "  light  and  judgment,"  the  high  priest  gave  sen- 
tence in  all  difficult  and  important  matters  in  the  name  of  God ; 
but  liow  this  took  place  we  have  no  information.  Among  hea- 
then nations  we  find  somethino;  similar,  both  as  regards  its  out- 
er) .^  o 

ward  and  inward  character.  In  Egypt,  the  high  priest,  when 
he  acted  as  supreme  judge,  hung  round  his  neck  a  figure  of 
truth,  cut  out  of  sapphire-stone,  with  closed  eyes.  And  among 
almost  all  ancient  nations  we  find  certain  priests  or  priestesses 
who  regularly,  in  important  national  circumstances,  gave 
oracular  answers.  We  may  therefore  fairly  conclude,  that  God 
drew  near  to  His  people  in  the  same  way.  But  that  the  Urini 
and  Thummini  were  (as  Philo  Juda^as,  who  lived  in  the  time  of 
Christ,  says)  two  woven  figures  enthroned  on  the  breastplate  as 


EXODUS  XXVIII.  32,  33.  329 

a  base,  contradicts  tlie  words,  ^^ put  in  tlie  breastplate,"  which 
words  altogetlier  correspond  to  those  which  speak  of  putting  the 
tables  into  the  ark  (ch.  xxv.  16).  Perhaps  they  were  two 
worked  figures,  or  more  properly,  after  the  manner  of  the 
cherubim,  one  worked  double  figure,  which  represented  light — 
the  knowledge  of  truth  and  judgment — moral  purity.  The 
Egyptian  figure  was  called  only  "truth" — the  Israelitish,  "truth 
and  judgment ; "  which  seems  to  intimate  that  holiness  is  the 
characteristic  of  the  religion  of  the  covenant  in  opposition  to  the 
heathen  Nature-worship.  We  are  not  to  suppose  the  manner  in 
which  illumination  was  communicated  to  the  high  priest  by  the 
light  and  judgment  to  have  been  a  questioning  of  the  figure  or 
the  precious  stones,  which  returned  answer  by  a  certain  mode  of 
glittering ;  but  rather,  that  the  high  priest  had  in  this  figure  or 
image  a  Divine  pledge  and  assurance  that,  in  all  matters  apper- 
taining to  the  right  and  welfare  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  (and  only 
in  those  things  which  did  concern  the  twelve  tribes  was  he 
allowed  to  ask  of  the  Lord  and  to  jndge  in  His  name),  the  Lord 
would  never  leave  him,  on  his  faithful  asking  for  it,  without  a 
certain  knowledge  of  wdiat  was  His  will.  Thus  did  Joshua,  after 
the  death  of  Moses,  go  before  the  high  priest  Eleasar,  and  inquire 
of  him  from  the  Lord  by  means  of  "  the  light."  According  to 
the  same  judgment  were  the  whole  congregation  of  Israel  to  go 
in  and  out.  Num.  xxvii.  2L  Thus  God  answered  Saul  no  more 
after  his  rejection  by  the  "  light,"  1  Sam.  xxviii.  G.  After  the 
Babylonish  captivity  there  was  no  longer  a  high  priest  with 
"light  and  judgment ;"  and  the  people  waited  in  difficult  ques- 
tions for  tlie  time  till  a  high  priest  stood  up  with  Urim  and 
Thummim  (Ezra  iii.  63),  or  till  a  prophet  arose  (1  Mace.  iv.  46). 

Ver.  32.  Rent. — This  garment  also  was  not  sewed  together, 
but  woven  out  of  one  piece — a  symbol  of  entireness  and  per- 
fection. 

Ver.  33.  Pomegranates. — The  pomegranate  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  kinds  of  fruit.  Both  the  blossom  and  fruit  of  the 
pomegranate  is  an  emblem  of  beauty  and  abundance ;  and,  there- 
fore, is  used  as  an  ornament  and  significant  imago  even  by  the 
heathen.  Life,  blossom,  fruitfulness,  are  therefore  symbols  of 
communion  with  God,  who  is  the  Source  of  all  true  life.  These 
pomegranates  were  made  of  thread  of  bright  colours,  and  hung 
between  the  golden  bells,  which  were  probably  open  below. 


330  EXODUS  XXVIII.  35-39. 

Ver.  35.  Die  not. — These  words,  "  that  he  die  not,"  do  not 
refer  only  to  the  bells,  but  to  the  whole  dress.  Aaron  might 
not  appear  before  the  Lord  except  robed  in  these  holy  garments, 
which  lie  Himself  had  consecrated.  The  sounding  of  the  bells 
was  a  sign  to  the  people  in  the  fore-court  of  his  entrance  and  em- 
ployment in  his  priestly  functions.  They  were  in  this  manner 
enabled  to  accompany  these  ministrations  with  their  thoughts 
and  their  prayers,  although  the  veil  concealed  them  from  their 
view.     Cf  Ecclus.  xlv.  10,  11. 

Ver.  36.  Plate. — The  Hebrew  word  signifies  "flowers."  It 
appears,  therefore,  that  the  form  was  perhaps  that  of  a  wreath  of 
flowers.  This  often  occurs  in  sacred  objects  (the  rod  of  Aaron 
which  blossomed — the  calix  shape  of  the  head-dress),  and  it  was 
to  remind  men  of  the  true  Divine  life  which  is  in  holiness. 
Everything  which  is  sanctified  to  God — which  comes  into  His 
more  immediate  presence,  is  full  of  life,  flourishes  and  blossoms. 
Whoso  w-alketh  in  the  law  of  the  Lord  "  shall  be  like  a  tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  waters,  that  bringeth  forth  his  fruit  in 
his  season  :"  Ps.  i.  3. 

Holiness,  or  sanctified  to  the  Lord.  The  word  holiness  relates 
not  to  the  plate,  but  to  him  who  bears  it.  It  denotes  him  as 
sanctified  to  the  Lord.  As  the  whole  people  out  of  the  mass  of 
the  world — the  tribe  of  Levi  out  of  the  people — the  priests  out 
of  the  tribe — so  is  the  high  priest  entirely  separated  out  of  the 
body  of  priests,  and  consecrated  to  the  Lord  to  be  a  mediator 
between  Him  and  His  people. 

Ver.  38.  Hallow. — The  high  priest  alone  is  able  to  bear  the 
iniquity,  because  the  holiness  of  the  Lord  takes  it  away.  Sin 
clings  to  all  sacrifices,  either  because  they,  as  sin-offerings,  take 
on  themselves  the  sin  of  the  people,  or,  as  thank-offerings,  are 
ever  only  imperfectly  that  thing  which  they  represent.  But  all 
sinfulness  which  belongs  to  the  sacrifices,  to  the  gifts  of  atone- 
ment and  sanctification  of  the  people,  is  removed  by  the  holiness 
of  the  Lord,  which  triumphs  over  every  obstacle  and  takes  away 
all  imperfection.  But  as  the  high  priest  can  only  do  this  by 
outward  sign,  and  not  really,  since  he  himself  is  a  sinner,  and  in 
mind  not  always  sanctified,  we  perceive  here  how  he  and  all 
that  he  does  is  only  a  type  of  the  Holy  One  whose  whole  life 
even  to  death  was  sanctified  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  39.   Coa^— The   name   of  this  coat  is  in  the   Hebrew 


EXODUS  XXVIIT.  40-43.  331 

"  K'tlioneth."  It  was,  according  to  Jewish  tradition,  a  long  gar- 
ment reaching  to  the  feet,  with  long  sleeves.  According  to  ch. 
xxxix.  27,  it  was  woven  ;  i.e.,  not  sewn  together  from  different 
pieces,  but  altogether  the  work  of  the  weaver.  A  garment  which 
was  woven  was  regarded  as  more  perfect  in  distinction  from  one 
sewn.  The  material  was  the  finest  white  cotton — byssus ;  the 
colour,  that  of  holiness,  purity. 

Mitre. — A  turban  of  byssus,  different  from  the  coifs  or  bonnets 
mentioned  afterwards. 

Girdle. — The  girdle  holds  the  long  clothes  together,  and  girds 
them  up;  so  that  it  alone  makes  the  wearer  fit  for  the  discharge  of 
his  duties.  At  the  same  time,  different  instruments  and  signs  of 
office  were  put  in  the  girdle  before  the  commencement  of  the 
discharge  of  his  functions.  For  this  reason  the  girdle  itself  is  a 
mark  of  office,  and  was,  according  to  tradition,  only  worn  by  the 
priests  in  the  dischai'ge  of  their  office. 

Ver.  40.  Aarov!s  sons;  i.e.,  the  ordinary  priests,  in  distinction 
from  the  high  priest. 

Coats. — The  same  word  as  ver.  39  for  the  narrow  coat  of  the 
high  priest. 

Bonnets. — The  priestly  head-dress  (Migbaah,  i.e.,  elevation, 
hill)  had  the  form  of  an  inverted  calix.  It  appears  to  have  dif- 
fered from  that  of  the  high  priest  (Mitznepheth)  only  by  being 
less  high. 

Ver.  41.  Consecrate. — "  Fill  their  hand."  This  is  the  frequent 
expression  for  the  solemn  institution  to  the  priestly  office.  It 
stands  in  direct  reference  to  the  first  sacrifice  of  consecration,  at 
which  the  pieces  of  the  sacrifice  were  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
priests.  "To  fill  the  hands  of  the  Lord"  signifies  to  offer  Him 
gifts.  With  respect  to  the  priests,  therefore,  this  filling  of  the 
hands  signifies  "laying  gifts  in  them  to  be  presented  to  the 
Lord ;"  therefore,  consecrating  them  to  be  sacrificers. 

Ver.  42.  Breeches. — As  the  coat,  the  K'tlioneth,  reached  to  the 
feet,  these  breeches  had  rather  a  symbolical  meaning,  and  served 
to  remind  men  of  the  origin  of  the  feeling  of  shame.  Gen.  iii.  7. 

Ver.  43.  Iniquity. — For  which  they  have  no  atonement,  as, 
according  to  ver.  38,  they  have  for  the  iniquity  of  the  people. 
The  same  expression,  to  "  bear  the  iniquity,"  may  therefore,  in 
respect  to  the  sin  of  another,  signify,  to  remove  it,  to  wipe  it 
away ;  in  respect  to  their  own,  to  "  bear  the  punishment  of  it." 


332  EXODUS  XXIX.  1-20. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  mode  of  consecrating  the  priests  to  the  office  follows  the 
description  of  their  garments.  This  consisted  of  ablution,  of  a 
solemn  robing,  of  anointing,  and  the  sacrifice  which  followed 
thereon.  Here,  also,  is  observable  the  use  of  the  number  four, 
as  is  the  case  with  respect  to  the  colours,  the  pieces  of  their  gar- 
ments, the  component  parts  of  the  oil  of  consecration,  and  of  tlie 
censor.  Each  particular  act  has  its  own  special  signification. 
The  ablution  signified  their  preliminary  purification  from  daily 
sins  ;  their  garments,  their  investiture  with  their  office ;  the  oil, 
the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  granted  them ;  and  the  sacrifice,  the  for- 
giveness of  their  sins,  and  their  entire  sanctification  to  the  Lord. 
The  sacrificial  meal  which  follows  is  the  enjoyment  of  the  bless- 
ing received  in  their  priestly  office,  and  more  especially  in  the 
sacrifice  of  reconciliation,  and  an  emblem  of  their  close,  intimate 
communion  with  the  Lord,  whose  guests  they  are. 

Ver.  1.  Blemish. — All  the  particulars  of  the  sacrifices  will  be 
fully  explained  in  connection  with  the  laws  concerning  sacrifices, 
which  follow  in  the  next  book. 

Ver.  5.  Rohe  of  the  ephod. — These  belonged  to  each  other, 
but  so  that  the  ephod  or  shoulder-garment  was  the  main  part. 

Yer.  7.  Anoint  him. — Oil  not  only  beautifies  man's  person, 
but  it  likewise  improves  all  the  bodily  powers.  The  skin  is  made 
soft,  and  defends  the  body  from  the  effiicts  of  heat ;  the  limbs 
are  rendered  supple,  the  head  lighter.  Oil  not  only  is  the  cause 
of  light,  but  likewise  of  life  ;  and  is,  therefore,  in  the  O.  T.,  the 
emblem  of  the  Ploly  Spirit,  especially  of  His  gifts  to  men  for  the 
purpose  of  serving  the  kingdom  of  God  The  oil  was  poured  on 
the  head  of  the  high  priest :  of  the  other  priests  it  is  only  said 
that  they  were  anointed — i.e.,  probably  with  the  finger  dipped 
in  oik 

Ver.  9.   Consecrate. — Cf.  ch.  xxviii.  41,  note. 

Ver.  10.  Head. — Whereby  the  sacrifice  was  solemnly  dedicated. 
All  the  details  in  the  next  book. 

Ver.  12.  Finger. — Cf.  ch.  xxvii.  2,  note. 

Ver.  20.  Ear. — The  ear,  the  hand,  and  the  foot,  are  the  three 


EXODUS  XXIX.  24-45.  ;   XXX.  333 

great  instruments  of  obedience  in  the  human  body.  They  are 
purified  and  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice. 

Ver.  24.  Wave. — This  word,  which  often  afterwards  occurs, 
and  which  will  be  more  fully  explained  as  to  its  significance, 
means,  "to  move  hither  and  thither  on  all  four  sides;"  "to 
heave"  (ver.  27),  on  the  other  hand,  signifies,  "to  move  up  and 
down  "  in  a  perpendicular  direction,  cf.  Lev.  vii.  34,  note. 

Ver.  29.  So7is. — Namely,  the  sons  who  succeed  hira  in  the 
office  of  the  high  priesthood ;  not  the  ordinary  priests,  who  like- 
wise are  descended  from  him. 

Ver.  39.  Even. — At  sun-setting :  ch.  xii.  6,  note. 

Ver.  42.  Meet  you. — Here  is  the  name  of  the  tabernacle,  as  a 
place  of  the  Lord's  meeting  with  His  people,  again  confirmed. 

Ver.  45.  Their  God. — It  is  only  possible  that  the  Lord  shall 
dwell  continually  among  the  unholy  people  when  He  has  hal- 
lowed to  Himself  a  sanctuary  and  priests  by  an  especial  act  of 
consecration.  This  is  the  main  condition  of  the  everlasting 
covenant. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

After  the  description  of  all  the  furniture  of  the  tabernacle,  of 
the  priests'  garments  and  their  consecration,  next  follows  that  of 
the  altar  of  incense — apparently  somewhat  late  and  detached — 
not  as  though  this  part  of  the  saci'ed  things  was  of  less  import- 
ance and  significance  than  the  others,  but  because  all  the  pre- 
ceding sacred  furniture  contains  everything  needful  to  prayer 
and  tlie  service  of  God.  The  people  reconciled  to  God  are  they 
who  send  forth  daily  to  Him  the  incense  of  prayer.  In  the 
East,  in  king's  houses,  at  feasts,  the  whole  air  is  redolent  with  in- 
cense, as,  where  so  much  flesh  was  daily  sacrificed  and  in  great 
measure  burnt,  incense  was  a  real  necessity  to  the  senses.  A 
sj'mbolical  meaning  is  attached  to  this. — All  reconciliation  with 
God  by  means  of  sacrifice,  all  light  of  knowledge,  all  surrender 
of  the  earthly  active  life  to  the  Lord,  would  still  leave  a  sensible 
void  in  the  life  and  service  of  the  people  of  God,  without  the 
incense  of  prayer  rising  out  of  the  sanctuary — out  of  the 
hearts  of  the  congregation  of  God.     While  the  priest  offered  the 


334  EXODUS  XXX.  2-9. 

sacrifice  of  incense  in  the  sanctuary,  the  smoke  ascended  towards 
heaven  through  the  curtain  (as  there  was  no  opening)  before  the 
eyes  of  the  people,  who  were  praying  in  the  fore-court  (St  Luke 
i.  10).  Its  ascent  was  both  an  exhortation  to  them  to  pray,  and 
an  assurance  their  prayers  would  be  heard. 

Ver,  2.  Of  the  same. — The  regular  altar  was  of  earth,  with  a 
wooden  framework.  This  was  such  a  frame  overlaid  with  gold, 
without  the  filling  up. 

Ver.  3.  Top. — This  top  or  roof  was  flat  and  smooth  (as  eastern 
roofs  usually  are),  with  a  low  border,  which  latter,  by  the  side  of 
the  table,  was  intended  to  prevent  the  falling  of  the  incense. 

Croivn. — Apparently  in  the  middle  of  the  raised  part. 

Ver.  6.  Mercy-seat. — It  is  significant  that  it  is  not  said  of  the 
table  and  the  candlestick  that  they  stood  before  the  mercy-seat 
(ch.  xxvi.  35).  Immediately  before  the  mercy-seat,  yet  sepa- 
rated from  it  by  the  veil  (because  the  way  into  the  Holy  of 
holies  was  not  yet  opened),  the  incense  of  prayer  daily  ascended 
to  God.  And  thus,  under  the  New  Covenant,  ought  the  daily, 
unceasing  prayer  of  Christians  to  rise  up  to  God  before  the  cross 
of  Christ,  "  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  mercy-seat  in  His 
blood,"  Rom.  iii.  25. 

Ver.  8.  Lighteth. — This  conjunction  of  offices  is  significant. 
In  the  morning  were  the  lamps  of  the  candlestick  set  up  (snufPed, 
trimmed).  In  the  clear  day  the  people  of  the  Lord  are  to  trim 
His  lamps,  that  the  light  from  the  Lord  in  the  dark  places  may 
shine  thereon.  But  every  step  in  the  light  of  holy  knowledge 
ought  to  be  connected  with  prayer. 

Ver.  9.  Strange  incense. — The  preparation  of  the  sacred  in- 
cense is  afterwards  very  particularly  described.  This  might  not 
be  applied  to  any  common  use  (ver.  32)  :  and  in  like  manner  no 
unhallowed  incense  might  be  offered  on  the  altar,  since  every- 
thing was  significant.  In  the  New  Testament,  God  will  only 
hear  prayers  offered  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  There  is  no  ground 
of  assurance  except  in  His  word,  His  promise,  and  His  medi- 
ation :  St  John  X.  23. 

Drink-offering. — Prayer  is  to  be  an  especial  service  in  the 
worship  of  God,  not  mingled  with  the  sacrifices.  The  sacrifices 
without  prayer  are  wanting  in  an  essential  part ;  but  prayer, 
together  with  all  that  the  sacrifices  express,  goes  forth  as  some- 
thing independent.     In  the  N.  T.  the  sacrifice  of  the  children  of 


EXODUS  XXX.  10,  12.  335 

God  is  tlieir  heart,  their  will,  their  body.  This  sacrifice  with- 
out prayer  cannot  be  well-pleasing  in  God's  sight;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  prayer  can  by  no  means  make  up  for  the  want  of  the 
offering  of  the  heart  and  life  to  God. 

Ver.  10.  In  a  year,  on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  which  is 
spoken  of  fully.  Lev.  xvi.  Even  the  altar  of  incense  must  on 
this  day  be  purified,  because  it  also  was  defiled  with  the  sin  of 
the  people.  Even  the  prayer  of  the  children  of  God  is  not  in 
itself  pure  and  acceptable  in  His  sight ;  but  this  their  service 
needed  to  rest  on  the  atonement  of  the  Mediator  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  more  any  one  lives  an  inner  life,  the  more 
does  he  perceive  how  sin  defiles  and  corrupts  the  most  religious 
acts.  He  would,  therefore,  have  no  confidence  in  the  accept- 
ableness  of  his  prayers  without  an  ever  fresh  appropriation  to 
himself  of  the  merits  of  the  atonement. 

Most  lioly. — This  oft-recurring  expression  does  not,  of  course, 
mean  every  time,  exclusively,  the  "  most  holy,  but  the  "  very 
holy."  They  are,  therefore,  the  most  exalted  and  sacred  places, 
persons,  things,  and  acts,  which  form  the  centre  of  the  whole 
Divine  plan  of  revelation  and  sanctification,  which  refer  imme- 
diately to  the  renewal  and  maintenance  of  the  relation  to  God. 
That  which  relates  to  God,  and  is  rather  a  holy  ordinance  esta- 
blished by  Him  among  men,  is  called  simply  "  holy." 

Yer.  12.  Numherest  them. — The  numbering  of  the  people  had 
a  religious  meaning.  While  the  whole  body  of  the  people  was 
interceded  and  atoned  for  by  means  of  the  priests  and  the  sacri- 
fices, at  the  numbering  every  individual  stood  personally  and 
for  himself  before  the  Lord,  the  Holy  One.  The  Lord  stood 
before  him,  and  asked,  Whether  he  also  belonged  to  His 
people?  A  ransom,  therefore,  must  be  paid  for  the  life  of  each 
Israelite,  at  this  time  of  immediate  appearance  before  God,  lest 
he  be  smitten  with  punishment.  It  is  clear  that  this  was  also  a 
symbolical  act  (cf.  Ps.  xlix.  8) — a  recognition  of  each  person's 
continual  need  of  redemption — a  continual  awakening  of  the 
consciousness  of  sin,  in  order  to  keep  alive  the  thought  that  no 
one  could  dare  to  stand  before  God  without  some  mediation  or- 
dained by  Himself. — We  may  gather  from  these  words,  that 
numberings  of  the  people  often  took  place,  as  at  God's  command 
is  the  case  Num.  i.  But  whether  such  census  was  taken  at  re- 
gular periods  is  not  known,  but  not  probable  ;  still  in  the  time  of 


336  EXODUS  XXX.  13-23. 

Christ  the  payment  here  appointed  had  become  a  regular  one, 
as  appears  from  St  Matt.  xvii.  24,  and  is  known  from  other 
sources  ;  and  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  maintenance  of  the 
magnificent  tabernacle  and  the  service  of  God  could  be  provided 
for  except  by  a  regular  tribute.  But  the  numbering  of  the 
people  (for  the  reason  given  above)  was  ever  regarded  as  some- 
thing very  hazardous ;  and  for  this  cause  David  committed  a  sin 
when  he  presumed  to  do  this  of  his  own  accord,  and  so  the 
punishment  here  threatened  befell  the  people  :  2  Sam.  xxiv. ; 
1  Chron.  xxii. 

Ver.  13.  Shekel. — The  calculation  of  weights,  and  of  the  value 
of  money  which  depends  on  weight,  is  very  difficult  in  such  very 
ancient  times.  A  shekel  has  been  reckoned  to  be  the  forty-sixth 
part  of  a  fine  Cologne  mark,  or  something  above  seven  good 
groschen.  Accordingly,  each  Israelite  paid  not  quite  four  good 
groschen  as  tribute.  The  common  shekels,  which  were  different 
from  the  shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  were  considerably  lighter. 
(Calmet  thinks  the  value  of  the  silver  shekel  to  have  been 
2s.  3id.— Trans.) 

Ver.  15.  Atonement. — The  soul  of  the  one  needed  atonement 
just  as  much  as  that  of  the  other.  That  which  in  this  appoint- 
ment lay  heavily  on  the  poor,  it  was  the  part  of  love  to  lighten  ; 
as  Christ  pays  the  money  procured  by  His  miracle  for  Himself 
and  Peter. 

Ver.  19.  Feet. — In  the  dress  of  the  priests  no  shoes  are  men- 
tioned. But  it  appears  from  ch.  iii.  3,  that  no  one  might  come 
into  the  presence  of  the  Lord  with  shoes  on  his  feet,  but  all 
Divine  service  was  to  be  performed  barefoot.  Hence  ai'ose  the 
necessity  of  the  priests'  washing  their  feet  before  they  entered 
the  sanctuary. 

Ver.  21.  Wash. — This  purification  had  also  here  a  symbolical 
religious  meaning.  Although  they  were  washed,  and  therefore 
were  altogether  clean  (St  John  xiii.  10),  yet  did  they  need  to 
wash  the  feet — to  put  away  the  impurities  which  touched  them 
again  and  again  in  the  daily  walk  and  work  of  life. 

Ver.  23.  Pure  myrrh. — Heb.,  "  Mor  flowing  from  itself," 
or  myrrh,  smyrna.  This  is  the  juice  which  exudes  from  the  stem 
of  a  small  shrub  that  grows  in  Arabia  and  also  in  Canaan 
(Amyres),  very  like  to  the  acacia-tree.  When  the  bark  is  slit 
a  gummy  liquor  flows  out,  and  the  fragrance  from  it  was  very 


EXODUS  XXX.  24-34.  337 

liiglily  valued  among  the  ancients.  The  myrrli  wliicli  flowed 
from  the  tree,  and  not  the  extracted  juice,  was  esteemed  the  best. 
"  Cinnamon  of  sweet  scent ;"  i.e.,  not  the  common  kind,  but  an 
aromatic  sort.  "  Calamus,"  a  reed  with  a  sweet  odour,  fre- 
quently met  with  in  Arabia. 

Ver.  24.  Cassia. — Ileb.,  Kiddah,  a  kind  of  cinnamon  much 
prized  by  the  ancients  as  a  precious  sweet  spice. 

Oil-olive. — The  oil  for  sacred  anointing  was,  therefore,  pure 
olive  oil,  compounded  with  the  most  precious  perfumes.  The 
oil  was  the  emblem  of  the  Holy  Ghost — the  perfumes  of  tlie 
favour  of  God.  The  number  four  of  the  perfumes  signifies  the 
revelation  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  the  world,  in  which  this  num- 
ber continually  occurs. 

Ver.  25.  Apothecary. — A  perfumer.  The  art  of  preparing 
precious  spices,  perfumes,  was  a  particular  trade  in  ancient  times. 

Ver.  32.  Mans  flesh ;  i.  e.,  not  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of 
ordinary  anointing,  to  make  the  body  supple.  Even  in  those 
cases  where  the  holy  customs  most  nearly  approached  the  acts 
and  usages  of  common  life,  there  was  still  a  wide  external  line 
of  demarcation,  that  the  typical  meaning  of  the  sacred  customs 
might  always  be  conspicuous  as  the  proper  sense. 

Like  it. — This  does  not  mean  that  the  oil  of  anointment  was 
prepared  then  for  all  times,  and  no  new  was  to  be  made ;  nor 
that  only  Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  no  one  of  his  posterity,  was 
ever  to  be  anointed— as  both  these  opinions  are  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  the  Jewish  interpreters, — but  that  nothing  like  it  should 
be  made  for  ordinary  uses. 

Ver.  33.  Cut  ojf. — Because  this  would  be  an  act  of  open 
rebellion  against  the  Lord,  a  breaking  of  the  covenant  with 
Ilim  :  Gen.  xvii.  14,  note. 

Ver.  34.  Frankincense. — The  incense  also  which  was  offered 
on  the  golden  altar  in  the  holy  place  was  compounded  of  four 
substances  (ver.  24,  note).  The  first  (Hebrew,  Natap,  i.  e,, 
"  drops ")  is  probably  the  gum  from  the  tree  which  in  Heb.  is 
called  Libjicli,  in  Greek,  Storax, — a  plant  about  twelve  feet  high, 
like  the  quince.  By  means  of  slitting  the  stem  a  sweet  gum  is 
obtained,  called  in  Greek,  "  Stacte."  The  second  material 
(Heb.,  Sch'clieletli)  is  the  name  of  the  covering  of  a  shell-fish 
(Anguis  odoratus),  which  is  met  with  in  the  Red  Sea.  This 
fish  had  not  itself  a  pleasant  scent,  but  afforded  to  other  per- 

T 


338  EXODUS  XXX.  35,  36  ;    XXXI.  2,  3. 

fumes  strengtli  and  continuance.  The  third,  "  Chelb'nah  " — 
galbanum,  is  a  resin  from  a  shrub  which  grows  on  the  Syrian 
mountains,  and  which,  when  L'ohted,  has  so  strong  and  disagree- 
able an  odour  as  to  drive  away  snakes,  but,  mixed  with  others, 
increases  the  sweetness  of  the  perfume.  The  fourth,  "L'bonah," 
fi'ankincense,  is  the  very  highly  prized  resin  of  a  small  shrub, 
about  ten  feet  high,  which  grows  in  Arabia,  but  more  particu- 
larly in  India.  It  was  used  by  the  ancients,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  service  of  the  temple.  L'bonah  means  "  whitish,"  because 
the  whitest  kind  was  the  most  prized  and  most  used  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God. 

Ver.  35.  Tempered. — Heb.,  "  salted,  pure,  holy."  Salt  was 
used  in  every  sacrifice.  Of  its  significance  there  will  be  occasion 
to  speak  Lev.  ii.  13,  note. 

Ver.  36.  Before  the  testhnoiiy. — Therefore  a  dry  incense- 
powder,  which  stood  on  the  golden  altar  of  incense  before  the 
testimony — i.  e.,  in  the  holy  place,  before  the  curtain  which  con- 
cealed the  ark  with  the  tables  of  the  law,  and  from  thence  was 
put  in  a  pan  when  the  incense  was  burnt. 


CHAPTEK    XXXI. 

Ver.  2.  Bezaleel;  sign.:  "In  the  shadow  of  God."  The 
choice  of  the  artificers  forms  the  conclusion  to  the  list  of  com- 
mandments about  the  tabernacle  and  its  furnitiire.  They  were 
sanctified  to  this  work.  Their  natural  gifts  were  exalted  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  which  was  bestowed  on  them,  whereby  they 
were  enabled  to  do  the  work  not  merely  in  a  more  beautiful  and 
comely  manner,  but  also  to  work  in  the  continual  consciousness 
that  they  were  engaged  on  holy  works,  destined  for  the  kingdom 
and  service  of  God. 

Ver.  3.  Wisdom. — Wisdom  is  the  highest  faculty,  the  faculty, 
of  perception  (of  contemplating  the  beautiful)  ;  understanding 
is  the  gift  of  discrimination,  the  power  to  discern  which  is  the 
most  beautiful  of  two  or  more  things  presented  to  the  perceptive 
faculty ;  knowledge,  outward,  practical  knowledge ;  and  work- 
manship, skill,  the  power  of  executing  that  which  the  mind  has 
conceived. 


EXODUS  XXXI.  4-15.  339 

Ver.  4.  To  devise. — Lit.,  "  to  conceive  thoughts  "  {i.  e.,  to 
conceive  what  is  ingenious),  "  to  work  in  gold,"  etc. 

Ver.  5.  Set  them. — Lit.,  "to  cut  in  stone  for  the  fittings," 
settings. 

Ver.  6.  Aholiah  means  "tent  of  the  father." 
Wise-liearted. — This  is  very  forcible,  literally  rendered — "  And 
unto  the  heart  of  every  one,  in  the  heart  of  the  wise  have  I  given 
wisdom  ;"  i.  e.,  have  sanctified  his  natural  gifts  by  My  Spirit  for 
this  holy  work. 

Ver.  10.  Clothes  of  service. — Heb.,  "  the  clothes  of  the  weav- 
ing;" i.e.,  the  woven  carpets  and  hangings  of  the  tabernacle 
and  the  court. 

Ver.  11  s.  Tltey  do. — There  were  certainly  separate  persons 
for  each  part  of  the  work,  who  had  learnt  the  craft  in  Egypt ;  in 
which  country  all  kinds  of  work  were  divided  among  different 
persons,  and  one  man  undertook  only  one  particular  branch  of  a 
trade.  But  two  artificers  stood  at  the  head  of  the  whole  as  the 
"  devisers  of  thoughts,"  in  order  to  do  all  in  an  exact  manner 
after  Moses'  description,  and  to  give  the  pattern  to  the  work- 
men. 

Ver.  13.  Sign. — As  the  sanctuary  just  described  was  to  be 
God's  dwelling-place  among  the  people,  so  should  the  Sabbath 
be  on  the  part  of  the  people  a  perpetual  confession  of  the  cove- 
nant with  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things. 

Sanctify. — Separate  you  from  all  other  sinful  people,  who  are 
strangers  to  the  true  God.  To  that  purpose  the  Sabbath  served, 
which  had  so  peculiar  a  position  in  the  regulation  of  their  mode 
of  life,  by  its  direct  reference  to  God  as  the  Creator. 

Ver.  14.  Cut  off. — Herein  was  not  yet  clearly  expressed  what 
should  be  done  to  him  ;  afterwards  the  punishment  of  stoning 
was  decreed  :  Num.  xv.  32. 

Ver.  15.  Fat  to  death. — The  reason  of  this  punishment  be- 
comes most  clear  from  the  reason  assigned  and  the  context. 
It  was  not  because  the  sin  in  itself  was  so  great ;  but  because,  in 
the  case  of  a  people  like  the  Israelites,  who  Avere  governed  by 
outward  ordinances,  and  necessarily  bound  to  them,  and  more 
kept  in  union  with  God  and  separate  from  Nature-worship  by 
the  discipline  of  fear  than  of  knowledge,  the  violation  of  the 
Sabbath  was  a  violation  of  the  inner  sanctuary,  an  actual  breach 
of  the  covenant  with  their  God. 


340  EXODUS  XXXI.  17,  18  ;   XXXII. 

Yer.  17.  Refreshed. — Heb.,  "  He  drew  breath,"  refreshed 
Himself.     See  explanation  of  this  expression,  Gen.  ii.  2,  note. 

Ver.  18.  Finger  of  God. — Here  also,  as  ver.  3,  it  stands, 
"  with  God's  finger ;""  not  "  His,"  or  "  the  finger  of  the  Lord." 
A  superhuman  work,  one  of  Divine,  almighty  power  is  gener- 
ally signified.  The  ten  commandments,  as  the  peculiar  records 
of  the  covenant,  the  root  of  all  other  laws,  were  hewn  in  stone, 
the  others  were  written  in  a  book.  These  laws  written  in  stone, 
bearing  witness  before  man  of  God's  will,  and  so  condemning 
him,  were  intended  to  stand  before  him  until  the  time  came  when 
they  were  written  in  the  heart :  Jer.  xxxi.  31,  etc. ;  2  Cor.  iii.  7. 


CPIAPTER   XXXH. 

Scarcely  had  the  giving  of  the  law  concluded,  together  with  the 
call  of  the  lawgiver,  and  the  ratification  of  the  sabbatical  rest  as 
sign  of  the  covenant — hardly  were  the  records  of  the  covenant 
delivered  to  them — when  the  first  great  apostasy  of  the  people 
took  place.  The  occasion  of  this  was  the  long  delay  of  Moses  on 
the  mount.  Remembering  the  dread  which  had  overwhelmed 
themselves  at  the  former  Divine  manifestation,  they  believed 
Moses  to  be  dead.  We  may  remark,  with  respect  to  the  idolatry 
of  the  people  of  Israel,  two  gradations  of  it.  One  was  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  under  the  form  of  some  image  :  this  was  the 
calf  or  ox-worship,  of  which  the  Egyptian  Apis-worship  formed 
the  prototype  (cf.  Deut.  xxix.  17).  This  was  the  idolatry  which 
Jeroboam  in  after  times  established  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
(1  Kings  xii.  28,  29).  The  other  kind  of  idolatry  was  the  worship 
of  the  gods  of  other  nations — Baal,  Moloch,  Astoreth,  etc.  The 
first  kind  led  directly  to  the  second,  since  the  worship  of  Jehovah 
through  an  image  never  showed  itself  adverse  to  the  worship  of 
strange  gods.  The  common  ground  of  both  forms  of  idolatry  is 
Nature-worship — the  reverence  of  God  as  the  power  of  Nature ; 
for  the  calf  is  the  early  emblem  of  the  productive  power  of  Nature, 
and  is  represented  both  as  male  and  female.  But  since  a  beast 
can  only  be  the  emblem  of  Natui'e  or  the  powers  of  Nature,  never 
of  the  Creator  Himself,  the  Holy  and  the  Just  One  who  hath 


EXODUS  XXXII.  1,  2.  341 

created  man  to  know  and  love  Him,  and  made  liim  lord  over 
nature, — so,  in  the  most  noble  kind  of  symbolical  animal-worship, 
man  pays  honour  not  merely  to  a  fellow-created  being,  but  wor- 
ships that  very  creation  which  is  destined  to  serve  himself.  It  thus 
becomes  a  worship  of  the  world  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word ; 
which,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  gives  man  over  to  serve  all 
manner  of  worldly  and  fleshly  lusts.  In  this  way  is  the  apostasy 
of  the  people  easily  to  be  explained.  The  impression  made  on 
their  senses  by  the  miracles  on  Sinai  had  soon  vanished  :  the 
object  of  these  miracles,  in  bringing  the  people  to  obedience  to 
the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  had  not  been  attained.  The 
people  now  felt  especially  the  need  of  a  visible  leader  to  go  be- 
fore them — a  god  who  should  dwell  among  them,  not  mei'ely 
shrouded  in  the  pillar  of  the  cloud,  as  was  the  Holy,  Unapproach- 
able One,  whom  no  image  might  represent,  but  a  god  clothed 
in  bodily  form,  to  be  recognised  and  understood  by  all.  They 
desired  a  god  by  the  sight  of  whom  their  strength  might  be 
roused,  and  to  revel  in  the  exercise  of  that  strength,  witliout 
their  conscience  being  awed  by  the  feeling  of  his  holiness.  We 
here  see  Israel  on  the  brink  of  the  precipice — on  the  point  of 
losing  all  which  constituted  their  peculiar  privilege  beyond  every 
other  people.  Hence  the  terrible  punishment  and  the  after 
effects  of  this  great  event.  There  is  a  truth  in  the  Rabbinical 
saying,  "  No  punishment  happens  to  Israel  in  which  there  is  not 
an  ounce  of  the  transo-ression  of  tlie  calf." 

Ver.  1.  Go  before  us. — In  the  marches  or  wanderings  of 
the  nomadic  people,  it  was  customary  to  carry  the  images  or 
altars  of  their  deities  before  them ;  so  that  they  figuratively  led 
the  people.  Thus  was  Israel  guided  by  the  pillar  of  the  cloud. 
But  this  pledge  of  the  Divine  presence,  because  it  reminded 
them  of  God's  unapproachable  holiness,  was  distasteful  to  this 
undisciplined,  heathenly-disposed  people. 

Become  of  him. — Of  course  the  long,  inexplicable  delay  of 
Moses  on  the  mount  was  intended  as  a  trial  for  the  people,  by 
which  they  should  show  whether  or  not  the  spirit  and  meaning 
of  the  holy  commandments  of  God  had  made  an  impression  on 
them. 

Ver.  2.  Unto  me. — Aai'on  felt  in  great  perplexity,  and  did  not 
know  how  to  escape  from  it  except  by  a  concession.  Probably 
he  soothed  his  conscience  with  the  thought,  that  it  was  after  all 


342  EXODUS  XXXII.  4-7. 

the  true  God  whom  they  wished  to  worship,  through  an  image 
— that  without  this  concession  Moses  and  himself  would  be 
deprived  of  all  power — that  Moses  could  afterwards  remove  and 
forbid  the  worship.  The  fact,  too,  is  perhaps  significant,  that 
he  bids  them  bring  their  most  costly  ear-rings,  with  the  supposi- 
tion this  demand  would  be  sufficient  to  restrain  them  from  their 
idolatry. 

Ver.  4.  Graving  tool. — "  He  formed  it  with  a  chisel,"  after  he 
had  first  melted  it  up  in  mass  ;  and  the  w^ords  which  follow 
mean,  "  And  so  (after  he  had  first  melted,  then  chiselled  it)  it 
became  a  molten  calf." 

Land  of  Egypt.— CI  Neh.  ix.  18  ;  Acts  vii.  40, 41.  "  Gods  " 
is  here  in  the  Hebrew  the  same  word  as  elsewhere,  God,  also  in 
the  plural ;  but  generally  the  number  is  in  the  singular.  Here, 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  in  the  plural :  "  who  have  led  thee."  In 
every  kind  of  Nature-worship  the  feeling  of  the  unity  of  the  God- 
head is  easily  lost.  Both  the  images  and  the  powers  represented 
are  separated  and  multiplied.  The  unity  is  only  dimly  imagined 
by  some  of  the  more  enlightened,  but  never  becomes  a  clear 
belief.  Nature  has  its  unity  only  in  the  Creator.  The  people, 
now  overjoyed  at  having  a  visible  leader  like  the  rest  of  the 
nations,  loudly  exult  and  ascribe  to  it  the  happiness  which  filled 
all  hearts. 

Ver.  5.  Feast. — Aaron  seizes  the  opportunity  to  call  God  by 
His  covenant-name  (Jehovah),  with  the  intention,  as  far  as  in 
him  lay,  by  means  of  this  feast,  to  keep  the  people  in  allegiance 
to  the  true  God. 

Ver.  6.  To  play. — They  celebrated  a  sacrifice  with  feasting 
and  heathen  games,  since  both  went  together  in  every  heatlien 
Nature-worship.  The  games  were  usually  of  a  free,  lascivious 
kind — a  necessary  consequence  of  the  worship  of  Nature  :  cf. 
1  Cor.  X.  7. 

Ver.  7.  Said  nnto  Moses. — Before  the  Lord  chastens  and 
cleanses  the  people  from  their  sin,  he  puts  Moses  to  a  severe  trial 
of  his  faith.  In  the  position  of  God  to  the  people  as  now  de- 
scribed, the  representation  of  it  on  the  human  side  comes  forth 
very  prominently.  God  sees  from  this  history  how  disobedient 
the  people  are.  He  tells  Moses  to  let  Him — not  to  hinder  Him 
from  destroying  the  people ;  afterwards,  at  Moses'  supplication. 
He  repents  of  the  punishment  He  had  threatened.     All  this  is 


EXODUS  XXXII.  9-13.  343 

not  merely  a  figure,  wliich,  from  condescension  to  the  rude  ideas 
of  the  Israelites,  is  applied  to  God,  but  it  contains  essential 
truth.  God  learns  from  trial  the  mind  of  man,  not  as  though 
He  had  not  known  it  before,  but  really,  because  He  pays  respect 
to  man's  freedom  of  will  conferred  by  Himself,  even  up  to  the 
open  outbreak  of  sin,  and  so  far  regards  this  source  of  evil  (i.  e., 
sin)  as  not  in  existence.  The  wrath  of  God  is  His  holy  horror 
of  sinners,  which  then  has  its  full  truth  and  reality  when  it  is 
overcome  by  His  grace  and  mercy.  Therefore  the  repentance 
of  God  represents  the  true  and  actual  side  of  God's  relation  to 
this  sin  of  His  people.     For  this  latter,  cf.  Gen.  vi.  6,  note. 

77<y  people. — So  completely  is  the  bond  betwixt  the  Lord  and 
the  people  broken,  that  He  says,  "  Thy  people,"  etc.  The 
covenant  was  in  its  origin  a  covenant  of  grace  :  when  the  Israel- 
ites, on  the  strength  of  this  covenant,  were  formed  into  a  nation, 
it  became  a  covenant  of  law,  which  was  annulled  as  soon  as  the 
people  broke  their  part  of  the  conditions  of  the  covenant.  And 
so  all  that  God  had  done  on  the  strength  of  the  covenant  is 
treated  as  though  it  had  never  taken  place.  Israel's  Exodus 
from  Egypt  becomes  a  mere  ordinary  migration  of  the  people 
under  a  human  leader  :  cf.  the  remarkable  passage,  Amos  ix.  7. 
Tiirough  this  fearful  threat,  i\Ioses  saw  himself  altogether  bereft 
of  Divine  aid.  He  had,  it  would  seem,  done  all  in  vain,  which 
lie  had  undertaken  at  God's  command.  At  the  same  time,  God 
puts  him  to  the  proof,  whether  he  has  most  regard  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  people  or  for  his  own  greatness. 

Vcr.  9.  A  nd  the  Lord. — Moses  is  silent  from  consternation, 
and  the  Lord  bei^ins  altogether  afresh. 

Stiffnecked. — A  very  frequent  image,  taken  from  a  beast  of 
burden  which  will  not  bend  its  neck  to  the  yoke  :  so,  a  self-willed, 
rebelHous  people. 

Ver.  10.  Great  nation. — A  promise  which  is  afterwards  re- 
peated in  the  case  of  the  great  punishment  in  the  wilderness  : 
Num.  xiv.  12. 

Ver.  13.  For  ever. — "  The  saints,  when  they  pour  out  their  cares 
before  God,  often  stammer  in  their  prayers ;  as  when  they  ask, 
'  How  long  sleepest  Thou — forgettest  Thou  us"?'  " — Calvin.  But 
in  fact  that  judgment  of  God  was  a  true  and  right  one,  which 
must  be  overcome  by  His  grace.  When  God  first  threatens  to 
punish,  and  then  rescinds  the  threatening,  because  His  covenant 


344  EXODUS  XXXII.  lG-2i. 

of  grace  takes  on  itself  strict  justice,  and  so  at  the  same  time  re- 
moves it,  He  allows  the  inward  purposes  of  His  mind,  which  in 
Himself  are  eternally  one,  for  man's  sake,  to  be  separated,  that 
thus  man  may  be  able  to  understand  them.  In  like  manner, 
Christ  allows  Himself  to  be  overcome  and  changed  by  the  prayer 
of  the  Syrophoenician  woman  :  St  Matt.  xv.  24-26.  That  which 
in  the  Eternal  ^lind  is  ever  one,  is  separated  according  to  the 
order  of  time ;  and  thus  it  seems  as  though  God  allowed  His 
purpose  to  be  changed  at  the  petition  of  Moses.  In  this  last 
circumstance  is,  however,  contained  a  great  truth,  inasmuch  as 
without  this  intercession,  to  which  God's  forgiveness  is  annexed, 
the  people  would  assuredly  have  perished.  First,  Moses  reminds 
God  of  the  triumph  of  His  enemies,  who  would  believe  their 
gods  had  taken  revenge  on  the  people  of  Israel :  but  next,  he 
appeals  to  the  main  point,  to  the  covenant  of  grace  with  their 
fathers,  which  had  promised  a  free  gift  on  the  part  of  God 
without  any  conditions. 

Ver.  16.  U^pon  the  tables. — This  is  circumstantially  and  em- 
phatically repeated,  in  order  to  show  the  great  significance  of 
the  act  which  immediately  follows. 

Ver.  17.  Joshua. — Joshua  was  with  JSIoses  on  the  mount  (ch. 
xxiv.  13).  Yet  we  find  from  this,  that  he  has  not  received  the 
revelations  with  him,  nor  heard  God  speak:  cf.  ch.  xxxiii.  11. 

Ver.  19.  Brahe  them. — Moses'  anger  was  a  righteous,  godly 
anger — a  reflection  of  that  which  God  had  just  now  declared  to 
him :  cf.  Deut.  ix.  8,  etc.  The  people  might  perceive  the 
enormity  of  their  offence  depicted  by  this  action. 

Ver.  20.  Drink  of  it. — Chemical  means  were  necessary  for 
burning  the  gold  and  reducing  it  to  powder ;  and  these  Moses 
might  easily  have  learnt  in  Egypt.  Nothing  was  to  remain  of 
the  golden  calf,  that  its  destruction  might  be  as  complete  as  pos- 
sible. But  the  main  point  was  the  sprinkling  the  dust  upon  the 
water,  and  making  the  people  drink  thereof:  for  while  so  many 
foreign  nations  were  held  in  abomination  by  the  Egyptians, 
because  they  ate  the  animals  which  were  sacred  among  them- 
selves, how  much  more  did  the  Israelites  declare  their  abhor- 
rence of  idolatry  by  consuming,  every  one  of  them,  the  image 
in  which  the  deity  was  supposed  to  be  incarnate ! 

Ver.  24.  Cameout. — Aaron  represents  himself  as  carried  away  by 
the  violence  of  the  people,  so  that  he  scarcely  knew  what  he  did. 


EXODUS  XXXII.  25-32.  345 

Ver.  25.  Naked. — "  That  the  people  was  unbridled,  since  Aaron 
had  unbridled  them  unto  their  shame  among  their  enemies."  He 
had  himself  freed  them  from  their  restraint,  that  the  people  which 
ouoht  to  have  promoted  God's  honour  on  earth  might  be  exposed 
to  the  scorn  of  all  heathen  nations.  Josephus,  the  Jewish  his- 
torian, passes  over  in  silence  the  whole  of  the  event  of  this  wor- 
ship of  the  calf,  from  a  deep  feeling  of  the  shame  brought  on  the 
people  by  it. 

Ver.  2G.  Sons  of  Levi. — Who,  by  reason  of  their  relationship 
with  jMoses  at  that  time,  especially  placed  themselves  at  the 
service  of  the  sanctuary.  But,  as  the  sequel  shows,  there  were 
many  among  them  who  had  been  tainted  with  the  idolatry. 

Ver.  27.  Neighbour. — Who  has  been  guilty  of  the  sin;  i.e., 
let  no  one  hesitate  even  to  slay  his  nearest  neighbour.  Every 
Levite  was  made  a  judge  in  this  state  of  affairs,  in  which  no  one 
was  to  be  trusted,  as  all  had  defiled  themselves.  The  necessity 
of  the  circumstances  called  for  proceedings  whicli  did  away 
with  all  inquiry  and  examination,  as  is  the  case  in  a  war  of 
extermination. 

Ver.  29.  This  day. — Moses  spoke  these  words  at  the  outset, 
when  he  summoned  the  Levites  to  carry  the  punishment  into 
execution.  But  they  are  put  at  the  close  of  the  narrative,  thus 
more  emphatically  to  show  the  importance  of  the  circumstance. 
"  To  fill  the  hands  to  the  Lord"  (to  consecrate),  means  to  offer 
a  sacrifice  acceptable  to  Ilim.  He  requires  them  to  enter,  as  it 
were,  on  the  duties  of  the  priestly  office  appointed  by  the  Lord 
(cf.  ch.  xxviii.  41,  note) ;  i.e.,  to  render  themselves  worthy  of 
that  office  by  this  act  of  impartial  self-denying  obedience.  The 
words  in  ISIoses'  blessing,  Deut.  xxxiii.  9,  refer  to  this  circum- 
stance. 

Ver.  32.  Out  of  Thy  hook. — This  remarkable  petition  of  Moses 
shows,  more  than  anything  else  in  the  event  before  us,  what  a 
crisis  this  was  in  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  "  It  is 
very  surprising  that  JMoses  appears  to  prescribe  a  law  to  God, 
to  call  on  Him  to  annul  His  eternal  decree,  and  to  wish  to  de- 
prive Him  of  His  justice.  Would  not  all  condemn  the  expression 
as  a  very  arrogant  one  :  If  Thou  wilt  not  spare  the  wicked,  then 
count  me  no  longer  among  Thy  servants  ?  Does  it  not  appear 
as  the  extreme  of  daring,  to  wish  to  annul  God's  eternal  decrees? 
And  is  it  not  to  confound  all  distinctions  between  fTood  and  bad 


346  EXODUS  XXXII.  3-1,  33. 

that  he  should  wish  to  be  included  in  the  same  punishment  f  I 
do  not  deny  that  Moses  is  here  carried  away  by  so  strong  feel- 
ings as  to  speak  like  one  beside  himself.  But  it  is  well  to  ob- 
serve, that  when  believers  pour  out  their  cares  into  the  bosom 
of  God,  they  do  not  always  speak  with  clear  distinctions  and 
accurately-chosen  words ;  but  sometimes  they  are  incoherent, 
sometimes  they  utter  irrepressible  sighs,  sometimes  they  are 
anxious  about  and  press  one  request  beyond  all  others.  Nothing 
certainly  was  less  in  Moses'  thoughts  than  to  prescribe  a  law  to 
God ;  and  quite  as  little  would  he  have  hesitated  to  confess  that 
God's  decrees,  made  concerning  His  elect  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  cannot  be  reversed ;  and  quite  as  sure  was  he  that 
the  Judge  of  the  world  cannot  condemn  the  righteous  with  the 
sinners.  But  since  his  whole  mind  was  full  of  care  for  the 
people  intrusted  to  him  by  God,  he  can  think  of  nothing  but  the 
desire  to  save  it,  and  he  can  let  nothing  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
fulfilment  of  this  his  great  hope.  And  thus  it  is  that  he  takes 
all  on  himself:  he  offers  himself  as  surety  for  the  people,  he  for- 
gets God's  decree  of  grace  concerning  himself,  and  does  not  con- 
sider that  which  alone  may  become  Almighty  God  Himself. 
St  Paul  goes  still  further,  when  he  wished  himself  accursed  for 
his  brethren's  sake  (Rom.  ix.  3).  Their  hearts  being  fixed  solely 
on  the  salvation  of  the  chosen  people,  neither  of  the  two  are  chiefly 
solicitous  about  what  may  concern  themselves,  and  are  willing 
to  sacrifice  themselves  for  the  whole  of  the  Church ;  because  this 
general  truth  is  impressed  on  their  souls,  viz.,  if  the  whole  body 
be  preserved,  then  each  member  will  be  in  health.  We  need 
not  wonder  that  they  were  in  such  perplexity,  since  in  the 
destruction  of  the  chosen  people  was  involved  the  loss  of  God's 
truth  and  righteousness.  God  would  then  have  denied  Himself, 
if  the  eternal  election  vouchsafed  to  Abraham's  children  had 
come  to  nought." — Calvin. 

Ver.  34.  Upon  them. — Hereby  God  distinguishes  the  sins  of 
the  individual  from  those  of  the  whole  people.  He  will  still 
have  mercy  with  His  people  for  His  promise's  sake  made  to  the 
fathers ;  but  on  those  who  have  sinned  He  will  take  vengeance 
in  His  appointed  time. 

Ver.  35.  Plague. — The  death  of  the  3000  already  mentioned 
(ver.  28)  is  here  meant. 


EXODUS  XXXIII.  2-7.  347 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

The  terrible  chastisement  liad  humbled  the  people.  It  was, 
however,  to  be  feared,  that  if  the  Lord  still  further  chastened 
tliem,  they  would  throw  off  all  bonds.  Therefore  the  Lord  re- 
peated the  old  promises  of  the  covenant,  though  one  important 
privilege  was  taken  from  it :  they  should  possess  the  promised 
Canaan  indeed:  but  Pie  Himself  would  be  no  loncrer  in  the 
midst  of  them,  as  His  presence  could  only  be  terrible  to  them. 
All  these  threatenings  are  to  be  understood  with  the  silent  con- 
dition of  their  removal,  if  the  people  should  repent. 

Ver.  2.  Will  send. — This  promise  or  threat  (since  it  is  both  at 
once)  is  essentially  different  from  that,  eh.  xxiii.  20.  The  angel 
of  whom  mention  is  now  made  is  one  distinct  from  the  Lord 
Himself,  whereas  that  spoken  of  above  is  represented  as  equal  to 
Him.     Cf  note  there. 

Ver.  3.  Consume  thee. — The  people,  on  ceasing  to  be  a  j^eculiar 
possession  of  the  Lord's,  and  on  passing  into  the  more  general 
and  remote  relationship  towards  Him,  such  as  the  other  nations 
had,  was  no  longer  liable  to  the  same  amount  of  responsibility 
as  before,  or  exposed  to  the  same  great  dangers,  on  transgression 
of  His  laws. 

Ver.  4.  Ornaments. — The  chastisement  and  this  threat  had, 
in  truth,  awakened  in  the  people  whatever  genuine  fear  and  love 
of  God  remained.  They  felt  deeply  the  loss  they  had  incurred, 
in  being  made  like  the  other  nations,  and  put  in  possession  of 
the  temporal  benefits  only  which  God  had  promised  them.  As 
a  sign  that  they  felt  their  true  ornament,  their  distinguishing 
honour,  was  taken  away,  they  remove  also  from  off  them  all  their 
external  ornaments. 

Ver.  7.  Tabernacle. — The  people  had  probably  a  moveable 
sanctuary  from  the  commencement  of  their  journey  through  the 
wilderness, — perhaps  the  tent  before  which  IVIoses  was  accus- 
tomed to  sit  for  the  administration  of  justice,  and  to  offer  the 
sacrifices  for  the  people.  This  tent  had  also  the  name  of  taber- 
nacle, though  we  read  nothing  about  any  service  being  per- 
formed in  it.     This  tent,  then,  on  which  the  pillar  of  the  cloud 


348  EXODUS  XXXIII.  11,  12. 

regularly  appeared  during  the  sojourn  of  the  people  at  Sinai, 
Moses  now  removed  outside  the  camp,  in  order  to  give  the 
people  to  understand  that  the  presence  of  the  Lord  had  departed 
from  among  them,  and  he  who  wished  to  inquire  of  the  Lord 
must  go  out  in  order  to  do  so.  At  the  same  time,  the  Lord 
distinguished  Moses  by  fresh  and  greater  marks  of  His  grace  and 
favour.  For  explanation  of  the  name,  "  tabernacle  of  the  congre- 
gation," see  ch.  xxvii.  21,  note. 

Sought. — It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  chief  judgments  were 
at  that  time  regularly  pronounced  by  Moses  before  this  tent, 
and  that  he  inquired  of  the  Lord  in  the  tabernacle. 

Ver.  11.  Face  to  face. — This  is  spoken  of  in  a  later  place  more 
fully,  and  a  distinction  made  between  this  manner  of  intercourse 
and  that  to  the  prophets  :  Num.  xii.  8. 

Ver.  12,  Moses. — Here  we  have  the  most  sublime  incident  in 
the  life  of  Moses.  Moses  seeks  afresh  the  countenance  of  the 
Lord  in  the  tabernacle  outside  the  camp,  which  now  lies  under 
the  Divine  displeasure ;  and  begs  of  Him  once  more  to  turn  His 
whole  favour  towards  His  people.  As  he  himself  has  found 
grace,  and  stands  in  the  relation  of  a  highly-favoured  servant, 
he  could  not  rest  satisfied  with  the  commandment  laid  on  him, 
and  with  the  general  promise,  if  God  will  not  once  more  go  with 
His  people.  When  God  has  promised  this,  Moses  becomes 
bolder,  and  begs  to  behold  the  glory  of  God.  But  God  refuses 
him  this.  He  will  let  all  His  goodness  pass  before  him,  then 
shall  he  see  behind  Him.  Upon  this.  He  renews  the  tables  of  the 
covenant.  And  now,  while  Moses  stands  in  the  rock,  the  Lord 
Himself  proclaims  the  Divine  names  in  which  is  declared  the 
depth  of  His  holy  love  for  man.  No  doubt,  ISIoses  expected  to 
obtain  by  this  petition  a  vision  of  God  with  the  bodily  eyes. 
Every  visible  supernatural  apparition  by  which  God's  glory, 
might,  and  grace  are  revealed,  is  rightly  named,  "  beholding 
God's  countenance,"  "  God's  glory."  Many  before  Moses  had 
already  seen  somewhat  of  this  glory  (cf.  Gen.  xvi.  13,  note)  ;  so 
likewise  (ver.  11)  it  is  said  of  Moses  himself.  The  Lord  spake  to 
him  face  to  face;  and  (ch.  xxiv.  10)  it  is  said  of  the  elders, 
"  They  saw  the  God  of  Israel."  But  every  higher,  clearer  reve- 
lation through  the  senses  (which  cannot  be  supposed  without 
an  exaltation  of  the  spiritual  vision),  fills  the  beholder  with  a 
longing  still  more  to  know  God  as  He  is.     (For  either  we  shall 


EXODUS  XXXIII.  12-14.  349 

sec  God  with  the  eyes  of  the  glorified  body,  so  that  they  liave 
something  resembhng  spirit,  by  which  the  incorporeal  exist- 
ence can  be  seen,  which  it  is  difficult  or  impossible  to  show  by 
any  examples  from  Scripture ;  or,  what  is  more  probable,  God 
will  be  so  known  and  visible  to  us,  that  He  will  be  seen  by 
every  one  of  us  in  ourselves — be  seen  in  others,  be  seen  in 
Himself,  be  seen  in  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  and  in  all 
creatures  who  then  shall  exist — be  seen  also  through  the  bodies 
in  every  body  to  which  the  eyes  of  the  spiritual  body  shall  with 
piercing  keenness  direct  themselves. — St  August,  de  Civit.  Dei 
xxii.  29,  6.)  In  this  full  and  perfect  sense  can  no  one,  so  long  as 
he  is  on  earth,  see  God.  As  the  eyes  must  be  protected  from  a 
dazzling  light,  so  must  God  keep  His  favoured  servants  from 
such  a  vision,  for  which  sinful  man  is  not  yet  meet.  They  can 
only  hear  of  the  existence  of  His  holy  love,  what  he  has  an- 
nounced concerning  it,  as  He  passes  by ;  they  can  only  look  be- 
hind Him,  and  so  behold  the  traces  of  His  presence.  This  is 
granted  to  Moses  ;  and  at  the  same  time  is  vouchsafed  a  fulness 
of  knowledge  of  the  Divine  salvation,  and  a  renewed  certainty 
of  the  Lord's  covenant  of  grace  with  His  people. 

Ver.  12.  In  My  sight. — God  had  spoken  in  general  terms, 
ver.  1,  of  an  angel  whom  He  would  send  with  him.  But  as  now 
the  Lord  had  said,  "  He  knew  him  by  name" — i.e.,  stood  in  a 
conscious,  personal  covenanted  relation  to  him — therefore  now  it 
is  Moses'  prayer  that  He  would  not  remain  at  a  distance  from 
him  and  from  the  people  as  He  did  from  the  heathen,  whom  He 
led  only  by  the  dark  incomprehensible  way  of  His  providence, 
without  any  personal  covenant  mediator. 

Ver.  13.  Shoio  me. — All  this  clearly  means  that  Moses  prays 
for  a  certain  knowledge  and  direct  guidance,  such  as  belongs  to 
a  child  of  the  covenant. 

Thy  people. — What  he  prays  for  himself,  he  Avill  also  now  apply 
to  the  people. 

Ver.  14.  Presence. — The  "  presence  of  the  Lord "  is  not  a 
general  term  for  His  being  present  with  them,  but  it  is  His  pre- 
sence by  means  of  a  Mediator  of  the  covenant,  co-equal  and  of 
one  nature  with  Himself — by  means  of  the  "  Angel  of  the  Lord," 
who  is  called,  Isa.  Ixiii.  9,  "The  Angel  of  His  presence,"  and  ]\Ial. 
iii.  1,  "  The  Angel  of  the  covenant :"  in  the  N.  T.  He  is  called 
"  the  likeness  of  the  invisible  God,"  Col.  i.  15;  "the  brightness 


350  EXODUS  XXXIII.  16-19. 

of  His  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  His  person,"  Heb.  i.  3; 
"  the  Word,  who  was  with  God,  and  who  was  God,"  St  John  i.  1 ; 
in  whom  is  God's  name,  ch.  xxiii.  21.  And  so  Moses  afterwards 
speaks  in  like  terms  of  Him,  "  Thou  goest  with  us."  We  see, 
therefore,  how  clearly  and  distinctly  is  expressed,  in  the  oldest 
books  of  Holy  Scripture,  the  thought  that  the  redeemed  people 
of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  is  guided  by  a  Mediator  who  is 
equal  with  God,  and  that  the  mediation  which  this  people  re- 
quires is  an  immediate  Divine  revelation  of  this  co-equal  Medi- 
ator. The  difference  between  this  mediatory  covenant  and  that 
of  the  New  Testament  consists  only  in  this,  that  in  the  former, 
notwithstanding  the  condescension  of  the  Lord  and  His  Angel 
of  the  Covenant  to  the  ways  and  form  of  man,  still,  by  reason 
of  the  continuing  discipline  of  the  law.  He  remains  apart  from 
man  in  the  distance  of  an  angelic  nature. 

Ver.  16.  Separated. — The  peculiarity  of  the  relationship  of 
the  covenant  consists  in  the  gracious  presence  of  God  among 
His  people.  Moses  here  does  not  pray  for  anything  new,  but 
only  reiterates  and  enforces  his  petition  for  the  reinstatement  of 
the  people  in  the  covenant  of  grace. 

Ver.  17.  Will  do. — Not  a  fresh  promise,  but  a  confirmation  of 
what  was  said,  ver.  14. 

Ver.  18.  Shoio  me  Thy  glory. — This  petition  suitably  follows 
the  former  ones.  God  had  promised  to  him  and  the  j)eople  His 
immediate  guidance  by  means  of  "His  presence;"  but  Moses 
knew  that  still  God  would  not  reveal  Himself  unveiled,  but  in 
the  Cloudy  Pillar,  or  invisibly  in  the  tabernacle.  In  the  visible 
tokens  of  His  nearness,  indeed,  he  had  certain  pledges  of  its 
reality ;  but  still  he  must  by  faith  spring  over  the  chasm  which 
yet  separated  him  from  perfect  communion  with  God.  As  me- 
diator of  the  covenant  with  the  people,  he  hoped  that  God  would 
grant  to  him  what  He  had  as  yet  denied  the  rest,  but  which 
would  be  imparted  to  him  only  for  the  sake  of  the  rest. 

Ver.  19.  Goodness. — God  first  shows  that  which  He  grants  to 
him  before  He  limits  the  favour,  and,  in  part,  denies  the  request. 
The  "  goodness "  is  not  at  all  here,  as  some  have  believed,  the 
glory,  the  bright  appearance  which  passed  before  Moses,  but 
the  revelation  of  the  grace  of  God,  ch.  xxxiv.  6  ;  which,  however, 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  made  known  more  in  word  than 
to  sight — rather  to  the  attentive  belief  than  to  the  inquisitive 


EXODUS  XXXIII.  23;   XXXIV.  1.  351 

vision.  The  appearance,  therefore,  wliich  he  shall  see  as  it 
passes  by,  is  to  be  a  revelation  of  His  grace.  But  the  main 
part  is  this,  that  he  will  hear  God  "proclaim"  His  peculiar 
name — that  particular  portion  of  His  being  by  which  He  will  be 
known  as  the  true  God  of  men.  He  adds  most  impressively  to 
this  promise,  the  truth,  that  it  is  a  no  less  great  than  free  act  of 
grace.     Cf.  Rom.  ix.  15. 

Ver.  23.  Shall  not  he  seen. — We  must  accordingly  suppose 
that  Moses,  when  he  had  to  hew  out  two  tables  of  stone  and 
give  them  to  God,  must  have  been  placed  on  the  mount,  in  a 
cave  of  the  rock,  or  behind  a  hewn  cliff  of  rock.  Here  he  beheld 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,"  as  it  passed  by,  through  a  cleft  of  the  rock; 
but  even  then,  during  the  time  of  its  passing  by,  his  eyes  were 
holden  by  God,  so  that  he  only  heard,  but  did  not  see  any  thin  o-. 
Only  when  the  glory  had  passed  by  did  he  behold  the  appear- 
ance from  behind,  when  a  cloud  probably  covered  it.  While  in 
the  places  where  mention  is  made  of  a  "seeing  God  face  to  face," 
this  can  only  be  understood  comparatively  with  reference  to  the 
ordinary  knowledge  of  Him,  in  the  present  case  it  is  meant  in 
the  full  peculiar  sense.  All  knowledge  of  God  is,  in  this  life, 
only  a  mediate  knowledge  ("  an  enigma,"  1  Cor.  xiii.  12). 
We  see  God  from  behind — we  know  Him  from  His  works,  His 
dealings,  by  His  word,  by  comparisons,  by  inferences,  etc. ;  but 
face  to  face  we  cannot  behold  Him,  since  then  we  must  be  holy 
even  as  He  is  holy.  In  order  to  know  Him  in  His  governance 
of  the  world  in  all  its  steps — in  order  perfectly  to  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish that  which  He  does  from  that  which  lie  merely  over- 
rules, ordains,  and  permits,  His  holy  will  must  hence  become 
the  perfect  law  of  our  whole  life. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Ver.  1.  Hew  thee. — It  is  remarkable  that  Moses  himself  is 
obliged  to  hew  out  these  tables,  while  the  former  were  given  to 
him  written  by  God,  ch.  xxxii.  16.  It  appears,  that  tliough 
nothing  essential  was  withdrawn  from  the  people,  yet  in  this 


352  EXODUS  XXXIV.  3-7. 

difference  between  the  two  tables  tliey  are  reminded  of  their 
sin. 

Ver.  3.  Before  that  mount. — The  circumstances  are  like  those 
of  the  first  solemn  covenant-making. 

Ver.  5.  Proclaimed. — This  did  not  take  place  in  order  that  he 
might  know  this  was  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  but  in  order  to  pro- 
claim at  this  solemn  moment  the  names  by  which  God  would 
reveal  Himself  to  His  people. 

Ver.  6.  The  Lord. — The  Lord  Jehovah  Himself:  the  word 
repeated  (the  Lord)  is  in  both  cases,  in  the  Hebrew,  "  Jehovah," 
though  the  first  may  be  referred  to  what  precedes,  viz.,  "  the 
Lord  proclaimed."  In  this  case  the  word  would  be  repeated  in 
order  to  express  distinctly  that  Jehovah,  and  not  Moses,  uttered 
what  follows. 

Truth. — All  which  follows  after  "  the  Lord"  is  a  description 
of  the  nature  of  God  :  literally,  "  a  merciful  and  gracious  God, 
longkeeping  from  anger,  and  rich  in  grace  and  truth."  In  the 
most  solemn  moment  of  the  highest  revelation,  the  mediator  of 
the  Old  Testament  beholds  God  as  Love,  who,  without  having 
first  received  anything,  is  full  of  the  desire  to  communicate  His 
holy  and  blessed  nature  to  sinners,  in  order  to  make  them  par- 
takers of  His  perfections  :  He  is  not  only  ready  to  forgive,  but 
He  also  waits  for  their  repentance,  and  remits  the  punishment. 
On  the  word  "  truth,"  cf,  St  John  i.  14,  note.  At  this  moment 
He  wishes  especially  to  show  how,  and  why,  He  will  again  turn 
His  grace  to  the  stiffnecked  people. 

Ver.  7.  For  thousands — namely,  of  generations ;  i.e.,  even  for 
ever  :  as  similarly,  St  Matt,  xviii.  22.  This  is  closely  united  with 
the  "grace  and  truth,"  and  is  an  explanation  of  them.  The  cove- 
nanted truth  of  God  never  ceases,  even  when  He  punishes  His 
children  of  the  covenant.  And,  therefore,  even  now  the  relation 
of  God  to  the  apostate  people  Israel  is  that  of  their  covenant 
God,  who  punishes  and  tries  them  differently  from  all  other 
people. 

Clear  the  (juilty. — Lit. :  "  And  speaking  clean.  Pie  speaks  not 
clean."  He  does  not  declare  them  free  from  sin,  which  is  re- 
peated for  the  sake  of  emphasis.  This  appears  to  contradict 
what  has  gone  before.  The  word  means,  "  to  declare  pure, 
guiltless,"  and  is  intended  to  add  the  attribute  of  holiness  to  that 
of  the  love  of  God.     Because  God  is  merciful,  and  the  truth  of 


EXODUS  XXXIV.  8-10.  353 

His  covenant  endures  for  ever,  let  no  one  suppose  that  he  shall 
be  without  punishment.  Even  within  the  covenant  of  grace  He 
can  and  will  punish  individual  sinners  terribly.  Scripture  docs 
not  here  speak  of  a  less  punishment  which  will  even  still  over- 
take those  whom  God  has  forgiven ;  but  it  is  a  warning  not  to 
turn  the  grace  of  God  into  lasciviousness,  as  God  will  not  leave 
impenitent  sinners  without  punishment.  The  words  of  Jer. 
XXV.  29  and  xlix.  12  seem  an  allusion  to  this  declaration. 

Fourth  generation. — Upon  this  visiting  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generation,  see  ch.  xx.  5,  note. 

Ver.  8.  Worshipped. — As  soon  as  the  Appearance  was  mani- 
fest. 

Ver.  9.  Go  amoyig  us. — Heb.,  "  in  our  middle,"  in  reference 
to  the  revelation  made  of  God's  never-ending  forgiveness,  grace, 
and  covenanted  truth.  "  If  Thou  art  such  an  one  among  us,  then 
have  we  nothing  to  fear ;  then  will  Thy  people  find  in  Thee  not 
only  defence,  but  in  Thy  forgiving  love,  notwithstanding  all 
chastisements,  ever  afresh  access  to  Thee." 

Thine  inheritance. — Literally,  "  and  possessest  us."  As  among 
the  Israelites  all  land-property  was  inherited  and  actually  in- 
alienable, in  a  similar  manner  is  the  people  to  be  an  inheritance 
and  possession. — "  The  '  aiid  take  us,'  etc.,  is  as  much  as  to 
say,  '  And  lettest  us,  therefore,  in  this  way  be  Thine  inheritance  :' 
by  which  he  says,  God  can  keep  this  possession  on  no  other  terms 
than  those  of  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  since  so  great  is  the  people's 
sinfulness,  that  they  must  immediately  fall  out  of  the  grace  of 
God  if  they  are  not  ever  anew  reconciled  to  Him.  And,  there- 
fore, not  only  is  the  beginning  of  our  salvation  of  God's  free 
reception  of  us  to  the  rank  of  children,  but  we  cannot  continue 
to  the  end  in  this  relationship  of  children,  unless  God  of  His 
jirace  reconcile  us  to  Himself." — Calvin. 

Ver.  10.  /  make  a  covenant. — The  Lord  has  renewed  the 
promise  of  the  covenant ;  but  in  order  to  remove  every  doubt 
concerning  the  establishment  of  His  former  engagement  with  the 
people.  He  renews  also  briefly  the  lawgiving  of  the  covenant. 
The  "  ten  words,"  or  commandments,  God  writes  yet  again  on 
the  tables  of  stone  (ver.  1,  28) ;  but,  besides  this.  He  gives  in 
ten  other  commandments  (the  first,  ver.  11-1 G;  the  second,  ver. 
17;  the  third,  ver.  18;  the  fourth,  ver.  19,  20;  the  fifth,  ver. 
21 ;  the  sixth,  ver.  22 ;  the  seventh,  ver.  23,  24  ;  the  eighth,  ver. 


354  EXODUS  XXXIV.  12,  13. 

25  ;  the  ninth  and  the  tenth,  ver.  26),  the  contents  of  the  laws  of 
the  covenant  which  had  been  written  in  the  Book  of  the  Cove- 
nant (ch.  xxiv.  4),  and  commands  this  to  be  recorded  as  a 
second  and  explanatory  memorial  of  the  covenant.  It  is  very 
significant  that  nothing  new  is  contained  therein.  The  repeti- 
tion and  the  rewritin";  of  them  is  meant  as  a  confirmation  of 
their  anthority,  just  as  is  the  repetition  of  so  many  laws  in  the 
Book  of  Deuteronomy. 

Do  loith  thee. — This  promise  also  has  a  reference  to  the  breach 
of  the  covenant  by  the  people,  and  to  its  present  renewal.  The 
great  wonders  by  which  the  Lord  had  preserved  His  people  out 
of  Egypt  were  in  a  manner  undone.  For  the  perfect  restoration 
of  the  former  relation  between  them,  it  is  requisite  that  the  Lord 
should  promise  as  great  and  wonderful  miracles  to  His  people  as 
before  had  taken  place.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  Lord  does 
not  yet  say  He  will  make  a  covenant  icith  His  people  ;  but, 
before  the  people,  as  below  it  is  said,  "  That  I  will  do  icith  thee." 
Moses  therefore  is  to  be  regarded  as  he  with  whom  the  Lord 
makes  the  covenant,  who  in  this  manner  acts  as  mediator  for 
the  people.  This  manner  of  expression  is  intended  to  remind 
the  people  of  their  unworthiness,  and  to  increase  their  affection 
for  the  great  servant  of  the  Lord,  who  was  the  only  pledge 
among  them  of  the  covenant  of  grace  made  by  God. 

Ver.  12.  Tn  the  midst  of  thee. — The  main  part  of  all  this  was  said 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  first  giving  of  the  laws  of  the  covenant. 

Ver.  13.  Theii'  groves. — Luther  translates  (as  our  version) 
"  destroy  their  groves ;"  but  in  the  Heb.  it  is,  "  thou  shalt  cut 
down  their  Ascherim."  Aschera  was  the  name  of  a  Canaanitish 
idol,  which  probably  was  formed  of  a  large  perpendicular  stem 
of  a  tree  made  fast  in  the  ground.  This,  as  the  image  of  pro- 
ductive Nature,  was  set  up  partly  by  itself  alone  on  high  places 
and  in  woods,  partly  by  the  side  of  other  images  and  altars,  and 
was  a  very  impure  emblem,  as  was  indeed  mostly  the  case  in 
Nature-worship.  In  the  O.  T.,  ''  Aschera"  is  usually  put  only 
for  the  statue,  a  trunk  of  the  tree,  not  for  the  deity ;  therefore  it 
it  is  said,  "  to  hew  down,  to  break  down  the  Ascherim."  As  by 
the  preceding  word  "  images "  we  are  to  understand  pillars  of 
stone,  so  by  "  the  groves "  are  meant  these  wooden  trunks. 
At  all  times,  when  Israel  fell  from  the  true  God,  it  was  accus- 
tomed to  erect  such  emblematic  pillars,  and  thereby  to  open  the 


EXODUS  XXXIV.  14-22.  355 

doors  to  all  the  abominations  of  Nature-worship.  Gideon  hewed 
down  a  great  trunk  of  this  kind  (Judf:res  vi.  25).  In  the  king- 
dom of  Israel  there  were  prophets  of  the  same  (1  Kings  xviii. 
19) ;  nay,  sometimes  in  the  very  house  of  the  Lord,  women 
worked  tent  "  hangings"  (called  "  houses"  in  the  margin)  for 
this  goddess  (2  Kings  xxiii.  7). 

Ver.  14.  Jealous. — Jealous  simiifies  one  who  will  not  endure 
any  rival ;  and  is  one  of  the  many  expressions  which  represent 
the  marriage-relation  of  the  Lord  to  His  people.  By  the  cove- 
nant with  the  people  is  the  Lord  become  the  Husband  of  His 
people:  He  suffers  no  one  else  beside  Himself:  He  will  pos- 
sess the  undivided  love  of  His  people,  as  He  has  already  bestowed 
on  it  the  full  love  of  a  bridem-oom. 

Ver.  16.  ^  whoring  after  their  gods. — This  word  belongs  to 
the  same  circle  of  thought.  A  marriage  can  only  take  place  with 
the  true  God,  because  lie  is  one.  All  polytheism  is  to  be  compared 
to  the  union  of  a  woman  with  many  husbands,  and  therefore 
this  expression  of  the  heathen.  The  word  does  not  refer  to  the 
sin  of  unchastity,  which  was  so  often  closely  connected  with  idol- 
worship. 

Eat  of  their  sacrifice. — A  slight  degree  of  communication  is 
here  put,  and  not  at  present  absolute  idolatry,  but  only  par- 
ticipation in  their  sacrificial  feasts  ;  but  from  this  to  perfect 
apostasy  the  step  was  not  a  wide  one.  How  great  was  the 
danger  of  such  communication  even  in  times  of  far  higher  culti- 
vation, we  see  from  the  warnings  of  St  Paul  to  the  Corinthians, 
1  Cor.  X.  19,  etc. 

Ver.  16.  Tliy  sons. — By  reason  of  the  communion  of  the 
whole  life  which  is  entered  on  in  matrimony,  it  was,  and  still 
is,  at  all  times  a  sacred  duty  not  to  enter  on  such  a  connection 
with  any  one  who  is  the  follower  of  a  false  worship. 

Ver.  17.  Molten  gods. — Ch.  xx.  23,  ch.  xxxi.  4. 

Ver.  18.  From  Egypt.— C\\.  xxiii.  15. 

Ver.  20.  Empty.'— Q\\.  xiii.  12. 

Ver.  21.  Thou  shalt  rest. — The  command  of  the  Sabbath  was 
of  such  eminent  importance,  that  each  time  it  is  mentioned  it 
forms  a  distinct  subject.  Even  the  most  necessary  field  labours 
are  to  cease  on  the  Sabbath :  cf.  ch.  xxxv.  3. 

Ver.  22.  Ingathering. — In  Lev.  xxiii.  more  particular  mention 
is  made  of  these  feasts. 


356  EXODUS  XXXIV.  23-29. 

Ver.  23.  God  of  Israel— Ch.  xxili.  17. 

Ver.  24.  Tlirice  in  the  year. — The  theocratic  constitution  of  the 
Israehtes  exercised  unceasingly  on  so  many  sides  their  faith. 
We  read  in  the  after  history  of  no  instance  where  the  enemies  of 
the  Israehtes  made  use  of  these  feasts  as  a  time  for  assaihng 
them.  It  was  only  when  the  people  was  destined  by  the  Lord 
to  destruction,  when  the  Eomans  had  got  possession  of  a  large 
portion  of  their  country,  that  the  occurrence  of  the  feast  of  the 
Passover  served  to  heighten  the  famine  of  the  besieged  in 
Jerusalem.— See  review  of  Jewish  History  in  Appendix,  in  the 
last  volume. 

Ver.  25.  Morning. — Ch.  xxiii.  18. 

Ver.  26.  Mother's  milk— Ch.  xxiii.  19. 

Ver.  27.  W7ite  thou. — We  may  therefore  well  suppose  that 
the  new  ten  commandments  of  the  covenant,  whose  substance 
was  certainly  in  a  great  measure  contained  in  the  earlier  Book 
of  the  Covenant,  must  be  recorded  afresh  as  a  document  of  the 
covenant  now  restored  again  ;  while  the  history  written  at  a  later 
period,  which  w^as  inserted  between  the  two,  explained  the  whole 
matter. 

Ver.  28.  Eat  bread. — As  in  the  case  of  the  shining  of  his  face 
(ver.  35),  so  was  this  miraculous  abstinence  of  Moses  intended 
to  be  a  pledge  both  to  himself  and  the  people  of  his  divine 
mission.  During  his  communion  with  God,  in  his  intercourse 
with  Him,  he  was  removed  above  the  wants  of  the  earthly  life, 
and  received  a  foretaste  of  the  vision  of  God  in  the  eternal 
world  :  cf.  St  Matt.  iv.  1,  introd. 

He  wrote. — That  is,  as  has  been  expressly  said,  ver.  1,  not 
Moses,  but  the  Lord.  "  The  words  of  the  covenant,  the  ten 
words,"  also,  are  evidently  not  the  ten  laws  just  mentioned,  but 
the  well-known  ten  commandments.  With  this,  as  has  been 
already  explained,  it  is  qxiite  consistent  that  it  is  said  of  the 
first,  the  Lord  "  has  made  a  covenant  with  Israel  according  to 
them." 

Ver.  29.  Shone. — Lit.,  "radiated:"  rays  shot  from  it.  Be- 
cause the  horns  of  animals  resemble  rays,  the  word  "  to  shine  " 
comes  from  "  horn ;"  and  so  Moses  is  often  represented  with 
horns  :  more  properly,  and  in  accordance  with  the  word,  with 
two  horn-like  rays  proceeding  from  his  head.  In  order  to  fill 
the  people  with  deeper  reverence  for  Moses,  God  ordained  that 


EXODUS  XXXIV.  31,  34  ;   XXXV.  2-22.  357 

his  countenance  should  shine  as  often  as  he  came  to  the  people 
from  Plis  presence.  A  double  signification  was  conveyed  by 
this :  In  the  first  place,  it  was  signified  that  the  law  proceeded 
from  a  higher  world  of  light  (of  knowledge  and  of  holiness), 
since  its  very  gleams  were  to  be  seen  outwardly  on  the  minister 
of  the  law  :  in  the  next  place,  since  the  people  could  not  bear 
the  shining  of  light,  it  represented  how  fearful,  condemnator}^, 
and  fatal  the  law  was  for  a  sinful  people.  For  this  cause  Moses 
was  obliged  to  put  a  veil  over  the  lustre  of  light  (a  type  of  the 
veil  which,  in  the  O.  T,,  lies  over  the  full  revelation  of  the 
Divine  truths  of  salvation),  until  the  light  again  gradually 
vanished  :  cf.  2  Cor.  iii. 

Ver.  31.  Returned. — The  lustre  had  something  so  blinding  and 
terrifying,  that,  notwithstanding  the  veil  (ver.  33),  Moses  was 
obliged  to  reassure  them  by  an  especial  calling  of  them  to  him. 

Ver.  34.  Came  out. — He  himself  was,  during  his  intercourse 
with  the  Lord,  so  entirely  absorbed  by  means  of  the  revelation 
accorded  to  him  into  the  condition  of  the  glorification,  that  the 
light  did  not  blind  him,  and  his  eyes  and  countenance  were  able 
to  bear  its  lustre. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

Ver.  2.  Pat  to  death,  entirely,  as  ch.  xxxi.  14,  15. 

Ver.  3.  Kindle  no  fire. — The  commandment  is  here  repeated 
on  account  of  this  addition.  Fire  for  purposes  of  cooking  is 
here  spoken  of.  As  the  eastern  people  took  their  chief  meal  soon 
after  sunsetting,  and  the  Sabbath  lasted  from  one  sunsetting  to 
another,  this  commandment  could  easily  be  kept  by  a  somewhat 
later  preparation  of  the  meal,  after  the  close  of  the  Sabbath, 
without  much  disturbance  of  their  usual  mode  of  life. 

Ver.  9.  Breastplate. — A  carrying  out  of  the  command  of  ch. 

XXV.  1. 

Ver.  10.  Ilath  commanded. — As  helpers  to  the  two  principal 
artificers  of  the  work  :  ch.  xxxi.  1,  etc.  All  the  particulars  have 
been  explained  already  at  chs.  xxv.-xxx. 

Ver.  22.  Tablets;  i.e.,  nose-rings,  golden  rings  which  were 
placed  in  a  hole  bored  through  the  middle  of  the  nose  :  cf.  Gen. 


358       EXODUS  XXXV.  2i,  35  ;   XXXVI.  7,  38 ;    XXXVII.  5-24. 

xiv.  22,  note.  [The  Sept.  uses  a  word  (emplokion)  wliicli  rather 
means  some  ornament  entwined  in  the  hair. — Trans.] 

Ver.  24.  Offering  of  silver. — In  respect  to  the  great  riches 
which  we  here  find  in  the  hands  of  the  IsraeHtes,  we  must 
always  bear  in  mind  that  they  had  sojourned  in  the  richest  part 
of  Egypt,  the  wealthiest  country  of  the  ancient  world  ;  and  that, 
on  their  exodus,  they  had  received  from  the  rich  Egyptians  gold 
and  silver.  Moreover,  no  doubt  they  traded  in  the  wilderness, 
which  was  so  continually  traversed  by  caravans. 

Ver.  35.  Cunning  ivork. — Cf.  ch.  xxxi.  1,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Ver.  7.  Too  mucli. — It  was  altogether  in  the  character  of  a 
sensuous,  easily  excited,  but  inwardly  obstinate  people,  to  con- 
tribute their  offerings  with  the  same  willingness  as  they  had  a 
short  time  before  shown,  in  bringing  costly  gifts  for  the  making  of 
the  calf.  At  that  time  was  their  faith  tried :  after  so  violent  an 
agitation  of  their  senses,  they  saw  and  heard  nothing  more. 
Here  was  it  intended  that  they  should  possess  a  visible  and 
splendid  sanctuary,  which  they  might  regard  as  a  national  pos- 
session. We  perceive  herein  the  reason  why  God  established 
so  gorgeous  a  service  in  Israel. 

Ver.  38.  Of  brass. — Cf.  ch.  xxvi.  In  the  command  of  God, 
the  ark,  the  table,  the  candlestick  are  first  described,  because  they 
are  of  the  most  importance  ;  and  the  tabernacle  is  built  for  their 
sake ;  but  naturally,  in  the  description  of  the  preparation  and 
construction,  the  building  must  precede  the  furniture  thereof. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Ver.  5.  Bear  the  ark.— Ch.  xxv.  10-16. 
Ver.  9.  Mercy-seat.— Ch.  xxv.  17-22. 
Ver.  16.  Cover  loithal.—Ch.  xxv.  23-30. 
Ver.  24.  Vessels  thereof— Ch.  xxv.  31-39. 


EXODUS  XXXVII.  28,  29  ;   XXXVIII.  7-25.  359 

Ver.  28.  Ooerlaid.—Q\\.  xxx.  1-5. 

Vcr.  29.  Apothecary.— Ch.  xxx.  23-25,  cli.  xxx.  34-38. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Ver.  7.  Hollow,— Ch.  xxvii.  1-8. 

Ver.  8.  Women  assembling. — We  learn  from  tlils  passage,  in 
the  first  place,  that  a  number  of  ministering  women  lived  by  the 
tabernacle,  who  were  altogether  employed  in  the  service  of 
Divine  worship.  From  1  Sam.  ii.  22  we  learn  that  tliis  was  a 
regular  constant  calling ;  and  the  history  of  Jephthah's  daughter 
(Judges  xi.  39),  as  well  as  the  account  of  Anna  in  the  N.  T. 
(St  Luke  ii.  37),  show  that  there  were  vows  for  women  similar 
to  those  of  the  Nazarites,  by  which  virgins  and  widows  bound 
tliemselves  (like  nuns)  to  a  constant  service  in  the  sanctuary. 
It  is  uncertain  whether  such  as  the  latter  were  meant  in  so 
ancient  times  as  the  passage  speaks  of.  Perhaps  this  custom 
was  of  Egyptian  origin,  and  left  remaining  by  ]Moses  in  order 
to  brino;  them  round  to  better  thinos.  The  looking-frlasses  of 
the  ancients  were  all  of  metal,  and  hollow.  They  were,  as  the 
context  shows,  made  of  brass.  This  kind  of  mirror  the  women 
in  the  East  carried  in  their  hands.  On  certain  festivals,  the 
women  who  were  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  Egyptian 
goddess  Isis  were  accustomed  to  assemble  themselves  before  the 
temple,  clothed  in  white  linen,  and  with  mirrors  in  their  hands. 
The  Israelite  women  may  have  imitated  that  custom,  without 
any  intention  to  continue  an  idolatrous  service  ;  but  now  that  the 
tabernacle  of  the  true  God  Avas  built,  may  have  given  it  up  of 
their  own  accord  as  unsuitable  to  be  used  before  it,  and  have 
offered  their  mirrors  for  the  making  of  the  great  laver  for  the 
priests. 

Ver.  24.  Talents. — A  talent  has  3000  shekels ;  therefore  the 
whole  sum  amounted  to  87,730  shekels  of  gold,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  highest  reckoning  of  the  shekel,  Avould  amount  to 
about  300,000  ducats. 

Vcr.  25.  Silver. — According  to  the  highest  mode  of  reckoning, 
300,000  thalers  (in  Engl,  money,  L.45,000). 


360  EXODUS  XXXVIII.  28  ;   XXXIX.  2  ;    XL.  15-38. 

Ver.  28.  Filleted;  i.e.,  they  were  overlaid  with  silver,  as 
otherwise  the  sum  would  not  have  been  sufficient.  So  the  altar 
of  burnt-offering  is  said  to  have  been  of  brass,  and  the  altar  of 
incense  of  gold,  though  the  one  was  only  overlaid  with  brass 
and  the  other  with  gold. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Ver.  2.  Tioined  linen. — Therefore  blue-purple,  red-purple,  and 
kermes- coloured  thread  and  byssus.  Upon  the  whole,  comp. 
eh.  xxviii.  In  the  description  it  is  sometimes  said  "  he,"  some- 
times "  they  made,"  according  as  one  of  the  two  chief  artificers, 
or  both  together,  were  employed. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

Ver.  15.  Everlasting  priesthood.  —  Jewish  tradition  has 
grounded  on  this  passage  its  mistake,  that  only  Aaron  and  his 
sons,  but  no  other  priest  after  them,  were  anointed.  But  the 
words  can  very  well  also  signify  that  this  first  anointing  guaran- 
teed their  future  consecration  to  the  priestly  office  for  all  gene- 
rations to  come. 

Ver.  17.  Of  the  month. — After  the  Exodus  fi'om  Egypt. 

Ver.  34.  Filled  the  tabernacle. — The  cloudy  pillar  which  went 
before  the  host  of  the  Israelites  removed  and  covered  the  taber- 
nacle. At  every  fresh  breaking  up  of  the  camp,  it  again  went 
before  the  van  of  the  host. 

Ver.  38.  By  night. — The  cloud,  which  was  dark  by  day,  be- 
came light  by  night,  as  ch.  xiii.  21. 


LEVITICUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

After  tlie  giving  of  the  laws  of  the  covenant,  and  the  subse- 
quent erection  of  the  tabernacle  with  its  furniture  and  vessels, 
and  the  robes  and  consecration  of  the  priests  had  been  revealed, 
and  all  had  been  executed  in  accordance  with  the  command,  now 
followed  a  more  minute  direction  of  the  sacrifices.    Sacrifice  wasj 
the  peculiar  main  point  and  essence  of  all  worship  both  in  thei 
Old  Covenant  religion  and  in   all  heathen  services.     We  find' 
that  sacrifice  was  brought  out  of  paradise  in  the  family  of  Adam, 
Gen.  iv.  4,  note.     We  saw  Noah  offering  burnt-sacrifice  aft  e 
the  flood,  Gen.  viii.  20,  note.     But  as  Israel  became  a  people 
only  under  Moses,  the  whole  service  of  sacrifice  did  not  receive 
before  his  time  its  full  and  complete  form.     For  although  there 
were  in  the  times  before  him  thank-offerings,  yet  certainly  there 
did  not  exist  sin-offerings  and  sacrifices  of  atonement,  as  a  parti- 
cular distinct  kind  of  these  holy  customs.     The  general  meaning  t 
of  all  sacrifices,   even  among  the  heathen,   is  a  representation  | 
under  a  material  form  of  the  act  of  devotion  to  God.     Man, 
justly  enough,  was  not  satisfied  with  a  mere  inward  feeling,  a 
purely  spiritual  disposition  of  the  heart — he  felt  that  he  needed 
in  his  relation  to  God  an  act  of  self-surrender,  and  for  this  act  he 
made  use  of  symbolical  means.     As  one  who  prays  is  not  satis- 
fied with  merely  inwardly  thinking  and  feeling,  as  he  pours  out 
his  thoughts  and  feelings  in  words,  and  by  posture  and  gesture 
bears  witness  to  what  he  is  doing,  even  when  he  is  alone  with 
God ;  so  is  an  actual  union  with  God  by  means  of  an  outward 


362  LEVITICUS  I. 

act  a  real  necessity  of  human  nature.  But  this  act  takes  a  two- 
fold form,  according  as  man  is  conscious  especially  of  an  obstruc- 
tion, a  severance  dividing  God  and  himself;  or  as  he  more  par- 
ticularly desires  to  express  thanksgiving  for  a  benefit  received,  or 
petition  for  one  he  hopes  yet  to  receive.  Both  are  united  in  the 
I  burnt-offering,  the  earliest  and  most  comprehensive  kind  of  sacri- 
fice. The  animal  to  be  sacrificed  is  placed  before  the  sacred 
place :  he  who  is  to  sacrifice  it  lays  his  hand  on  its  head,  in  order 
thereby  expressly  to  appropriate  it  to  himself  as  his  sacrifice,  and 
also  symbolically  to  transfer  to  it  that  which  he  ought  to  offer  in 
its  stead.  The  soul  of  the  animal  which  has  not  sinned,  and 
cannot  sin,  is,  as  it  were,  an  empty  vessel,  in  which  he  places  his 
own  guilt.  Under  the  feeling  of  this  his  guilt,  and  with  the 
longing  after  an  entire  surrender  to  God,  he  thereupon  himself 
slays  the  sacrifice  ;  expressing  by  this  act  that  he  for  his  own 
sins  has  deserved  death,  the  punishment  of  sin,  which  God  now 
will  remove  from  him.  The  soul  of  the  animal  streams  forth  to 
death  in  the  blood,  the  seat  of  animal  life,  in  his  own  stead,  and 
its  blood  now  covers,  atones  for,  the  sin  of  the  sacrificer.  As  a 
sign  that  God  has  received  this  vicarious  offering,  the  priest 
sprinkles  the  blood  of  the  animal  about  the  altar.  And  now  is  the 
animal's  flesh,  freed  from  its  sin-burdened  life,  laid  whole  on  the 
altar,  and  consumed  by  the  sacred  divine  flame  ;  and  the  smoke 
of  the  sacrifice  ascends  to  the  Lord  as  a  well-pleasing  savour,  as 
a  symbol  and  a  bearer  of  the  offerer's  perfect  devotion  to  the 
Lord. — With  this  was  then  a  meat-offering  connected.  As  the 
table  with  the  shew-bread  (cf.  Exod.  xxv.  23)  was  the  food 
Avhich  the  people  offered  to  God  in  a  holy  life  ;  so  every  meat- 
offering added  to  the  other  sacrifices  was  a  similar  symbolical 
offerino;  of  o;ood  works.  The  burnt-offerino;  had  almost  all  this 
in  common  with  the  other  sacrifices.  The  peculiarity  of  it, 
however,  was,  that  all  the  flesh  of  the  animal  was  burnt :  where- 
fore it  was  called  in  Greek  "  a  whole  offering ;"  in  Hebrew, 
"  mounting  upwards,"  i.e.,  a  sacrifice  altogether  ascending  in 
smoke  (the  skin  which  was  given  to  the  priests  made  no  excep- 
tion. This  was  only  a  tribute  of  what  was  in  itself  insignificant, 
as  an  acknowledgment  that  of  every  sacrifice  a  portion  belongs 
to  the  priest.)  As  the  entire  burning  of  the  victim  was  the 
main  thing,  it  clearly  follows  that  the  utter  surrender  to  the 
Lord  which  belonged  to  every  sacrifice  was  in  an  especial  man- 


LEVITICUS  I.  303 

ner  represented  in  tins ;  and  on  this  account  this  sacrifice  was 
made  daily  :  it  was  the  general  sacrifice  on  all  solemn  occasions, 
and  presupposed  that  the  sacrificer  had  not  by  any  particular 
sin  broken  his  union  with  his  covenant  God. — Even  with  the  \ 
heathen,  the  sacrifice  was  the  chief  point  of  the  Divine  worship.  I 
But  as  this  itself  was  a  worship  of  Nature,  so  was  tlio  atonement 
not  that  of  the  sinner  with  the  Holy  One,  but  of  the  indi\idual 
man  or  of  the  people  with  the  general  life  of  Nature  which  the 
heathens  honoured  in  their  sacrifices,  in  which  the  expiation  of 
a  sin  appears  only  here  and  there  as  a  subordinate  object.  But 
especially  the  great  "  whole  offerings,"  or  burnt-sacrifices,  in  most 
of  the  heathen  religions,  had  the  meaning  that  a  beast  which  repre- 
sented the  whole  of  Nature,  or  a  distinct  part  of  it,  was  sacrificed, 
in  order  thereby  to  bring  all  individual  life  into  harmony  with 
the  general  life.  At  the  time  when  Nature  awoke  out  of  her 
winter  sleep,  in  the  majority  of  the  heathen  religions  a  beast  was 
offered  which  represented  this  productive  power  of  the  creation. 
Every  natural  object  and  gift  was  thereby  sanctified,  and  man 
blessed  in  them  and  by  them.  In  every  sacrifice  of  the  people 
of  God,  a  self-offering  to  God  by  a  figurative  act  took  place, 
which  embodied  as  it  were  the  inward  act  between  God  and 
man.  But  as  an  animal  could  not  really  take  on  itself  sin  and 
expiate  it,  as  the  sprinkling  of  its  blood  did  not  really  wash 
away  sin,  therefore  these  typical  sacrifices  pointed  to  the  true 
perfect  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  holy  and  spotless  Lamb, 
who  truly  bore  the  punishment  of  the  sinner  in  his  stead,  and 
took  it  away.  The  sacrifice  of  the  N.  T.  is  not  merely  one 
which  took  place  once  for  all,  but  it  is  a  sacrifice  so  living,  so 
eternally  efficacious,  so  continually  present,  that  every  Christian 
ought  to  have  it  before  him  in  spirit  and  in  faith,  as  if  it  had 
even  now  been  offered  for  himself.  Then  he  experiences  the 
blood-sprinkling — i.e.,  God-acceptance  of  this  sacrifice — in  his  jus- 
tification before  God.  To  this  every  sacrifice  of  the  O.  T.  more 
or  less  pointed.  But  of  all  the  sacrifices,  the  burnt-offering 
especially  places  us  in  the  position  and  the  act  of  faith  of  the 
Christian,  when  he  is  conscious  of  standing  in  communion  with 
God,  and  yet,  oppressed  by  the  common  guilt,  needs  to  seek  full 
forgiveness;  when  he  desires,  indeed,  to  give  up  his  heart  entirely 
to  God,  but  requires  the  flame  of  Divine  love  to  consume  the 
sacrifice ;  and  when  he  vows  to  God  continuallv  in  all  his  works 


364  LEVITICUS  I.  3,  4. 

to  do  that  which  is  well-pleasing  in  His  sight.  This  burnt  sacri- 
fice of  the  Christian  is  the  general  offering  of  his  whole  life 
which  is  made  every  day,  which  includes  and  sanctifies  all  other 
oflPerings.  The  fire  of  this  can  never  be  extinguished.  The 
Church  of  the  Lord  must  without  ceasing  offer  up  this  sacrifice. 

Ver.  3.  Without  blemish. — The  latter  was  a  requirement  in  every 
sacrifice;  the  former,  of  the  burnt-offering  especially.  The  male 
animal,  as  the  more  powerful  and  perfect  representation  of  its  kind, 
was  not  to  be  wanting  in  this  chief  sacrifice  particularly :  that  it 
should  be  "  without  blemish" — fault — was  to  signify  the  holiness 
which  ought  to  belong  to  this  gift,  which  stood  in  the  place  of  the 
sinner. 

Ver.  4.  Atonement  for  him. — The  laying  on  of  hands  occurs 
in  the  O.  T.  on  the  occasion  of  pronouncing  a  blessing,  and  of 
instituting  to  an  office.  In  both  cases  is  this  custom  meant  to 
express  that  he  wdio  lays  on  his  hands  communicates,  transfers, 
something  to  the  other.  This  imparting  can  here  be  nothing 
else  than  all  that  which  the  man  wished  to  lay  on  the  sacrifice. 
He  transfers  to  the  sacrifice  his  sin,  his  guilt,  the  believing  sur- 
render of  the  thankful  heart,  the  vow,  the  petition  which  he 
would  lay  before  God,  in  order  that  he  may  in  the  sacrifice 
utterly  give  up  himself  to  God,  that  his  sin  may  be  wiped  away, 
his  debt  of  gratitude  paid  to  God.  The  Jewish  doctors  say  on  this, 
— "  He  who  lays  on  his  hand,  must  do  so  with  all  his  might ;  he 
must  put  both  hands  on  the  head  of  the  animal,  not  the  neck  or 
shoulders,  etc.,  and  may  not  let  anything  interpose  between  his 
hand  and  the  animal.  He  lays  his  hands  betwixt  the  two  horns ; 
and  in  the  sin-offering  he  confesses  the  iniquity  of  his  sins ;  in  the 
sacrifice  of  propitiation,  the  misdeeds  of  his  guiltiness ;  in  the 
burnt-offering  he  confesses  his  fault,  that  he  has  done  Avhat  he 
ought  not  to  have  done,  and  not  done  what  he  ought  to  do." 
"  To  atone"  is,  in  the  Hebrew,  "  to  cover."  Sin  is  covered, 
that  God  from  that  time  forth  does  not  as  it  were  see  it ;  i.e., 
that  He  treats  man  as  though  he  had  no  sin  in  His  sight.  Of 
course,  properly  speaking,  this  word  cannot  be  applied  to  God, 
from  whom  nothing  can  be  hidden, — nay,  it  is  even  God  Him- 
self who  has  ajDpointed  the  sin-offering,  the  means  for  covering 
the  sin.  But  if  in  the  nature  of  God  no  change  can  take  place 
by  means  of  the  atonement  (as  is  self-evident),  yet  a  change 
may  happen  in  His  relation  to  the  sinner.     He,  the  same  holy 


LEVITICUS  I.  9-17.  365 

God,  cannot  hold  the  same  relation  to  the  sinner  when  his  sin 
still  remains  upon  him,  and  when  it  is  atoned  for.  When,  there- 
fore, the  sin  is  covci'ed,  the  wrath  of  God  towards  the  sinner 
ceases,  and  Flis  i^ood  pleasure,  as  was  just  said  (ver.  3  and  4, 
Heb.,  "  to  his  well-pleasing  before  the  Lord,"  i.e.,  that  he  thereby 
is  made  acceptable  to  the  Lord),  is  turned  towards  the  reconciled 
one.  This  is  the  point  to  which  the  German  word  to  expiate, 
"  versohnen,"  corresponds,  which  answers  more  to  the  "  making 
acceptable"  than  to  the  "  covering." 

Ver.  9.  Wash  in  ivater. — Shall  over  and  above,  especially, 
purify,  as  being  the  unclean  parts  of  the  animal. 

Bi/  fire;  lit.,  "  a  firing," — a  sweet  smell  caused  by  the  burning. 
On  this,  see  Gen.  viii.  22,  note. 

Ver.  13.  Unto  the  Lord. — The  burnt-offering  was  preferably 
to  consist  of  cattle  ;  but  it  might  also  be  taken  from  the  sheep 
and  goats,  and,  in  case  of  necessity,  even  from  less  costly  ani- 
mals, turtle-doves,  or  other  doves.  Of  clean  animals,  those  were 
especially  to  be  sacrificed  with  which  man  had  become  as  it  were 
most  united  in  his  domestic  life.  These  are  the  best  fitted  to 
stand  in  his  stead,  as  being  those  which  are  nearest  to  him  in 
the  whole  animal  kingdom.  In  the  custom  practised  in  the 
burnt-offering  of  sheep  and  goats,  there  is  no  difference  fi-om 
that  in  the  case  of  cattle. 

Ver.  15. —  Wring  off;  Heb.,  "break  with  the  nail ;"  since  we 
see,  from  ch.  v.  8,  that  the  head  was  not  torn  off. 

At  the  side  of  the  altar. — Li  the  offering  of  the  dove,  no  laying 
on  of  hands  took  place,  but  the  sprinkling  of  blood ;  likewise 
not  the  offerer,  but  the  priest,  killed  the  birds.  The  reason, 
without  doubt,  was,  because  in  the  tearing  away  of  the  head  too 
much  blood  would  have  been  shed  to  admit  of  the  after  solemn 
sprinkling  of  it.  The  whole  business  was  curtailed,  and  the 
most  important  part  retained,  which  was  the  atoning  acceptance 
of  the  sacrifice  with  the  promise  of  grace  by  means  of  the  sprin- 
kling of  blood. 

Ver.  16.  With  his  feathers  ;  or,  more  correctly,  "  the  crop  with 
the  filth," — whatever  of  food  was  therein. 

Ver.  17.  N'ot  divide  it. — For  the  same  reason  that  the  head 
was  not  wrung  off,  but  broken,  Avere  the  wings  only  split,  not 
cut  off.  The  sacrifice  was  not  to  be  divided,  but  offered  as  a 
whole.     It  was  otherwise  in   the  case  of  the  cattle,  the  sheep, 


366  LEVITICUS  II.  1. 

and  the  goats  ;  and  therefore  this  custom  is  not  significant,  but 
had  its  reason  only  in  a  sense  of  beauty  and  propriety,  which 
would  have  been  wantino-  in  the  dividing  of  the  smaller  animals. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Immediately  after  the  burnt-sacrifice  follows  the  law  of  the 
unbloody  or  meat-offerings  (called  in  Heb.  "  Mincha,"  i.e.,  gift), 
since  these  were  the  usual  supplemental  gifts  to  the  burnt-sacri- 
fice, as  also  to  the  other  sacrifices,  but  (with  the  exception  of  the 
first-fruits)  never  stood  by  themselves  alone.  The  most  distin- 
guished of  all  meat-offerings  was  the  shew-bread,  which  conti- 
nually lay  before  the  Lord  in  the  holy  place.  The  main  signi- 
fication of  all  was  the  same.  The  meat-offering  consisted  of  the 
most  necessary  articles  of  nourishment — meat,  either  baked  or 
roasted,  or  of  the  first-fruits — and  was  anointed  with  oil  and 
salted.  A  drink-offering  was  joined  to  it.  They  contained, 
therefore,  on  the  whole,  the  elements  of  a  repast.  Like  the 
shew-bread — that  "  meat-offering"  which  was  always  in  the  holy 
place,  the  unbloody  offering,  which  was  always  made  together 
with  the  other  sacrifices,  reminded  men  that  the  people  of  God 
were  always  bound  to  offer  to  their  Lord  and  King  with  every 
sacrifice  their  food ;  to  consecrate  to  Him  continually  their  whole 
daily  life,  and  by  this  consecration  to  hallow  to  Him  every  en- 
joyment of  it.  It  is  well  to  observe  that  they  were  not  com- 
pleted good  works  which  were  offered  to  the  Lord,  but  the  holy 
resolution  of  the  will  to  perform  them,  since  the  meat-offering 
followed  immediately  on  the  burnt  sacrifice,  which  expressed 
atonement  and  self-surrender.  The  meat-offering,  therefore, 
had  the  purport  (as  has  been  observed  of  the  shew-bread,  the 
candlestick,  and  the  offering  of  incense)  of  reminding  the  sacri- 
ficer  of  what  he  ought  to  be,  and  to  what  his  sacrificial  service 
bound  him.  In  the  life  of  the  Christian,  the  meat-offering  re- 
ceives its  spiritual  interpretation  thus — that  no  renewed  self- 
offering  to  the  Lord  can  be  acceptable  without  the  resolution, 
and  likewise  the  commencement,  of  a  new  obedience ;  i.e.,  "  fruits 
meat  for  repentance." 

Ver.  1.  Frankincense. — The  oil  here,  as  Exod.  xxx.  22,  is  the 


LEVITICUS  II.  2-11.  367 

emblem  of  the  Holy  Spirit — the  frankincense,  of  prayer.  The 
meaning  is,  that  no  offering  of  new  obedience,  no  work,  can  be 
well-pleasing  to  God  without  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
penetrating  and  hallowing  them.  In  like  manner,  no  sacrifice 
can  rise  up  to  God  without  the  accompaniment  of  prayer. 

Ver.  2.  Memorial,  "  remembrance,"  means  generally  the  part 
of  every  sacrifice  which  was  burnt ;  because  (to  speak  after  the 
manner  of  men)  God,  smelling  the  sweet  savour,  was  moved  to 
think  graciously  of  the  sacrificer :  so,  e.g.,  the  incense  is  thus 
called,  ch.  xxiv.  7,  cf.  Acts  x.  4.  The  meaning,  tlierefore,  is  : 
the  offering  of  man  to  God  in  a  new  obedience,  sanctified  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  supported  by  prayer,  makes  him  partaker  of  all  the 
promises  of  grace  of  the  covenant  of  God.  It  is  well  to  consider  * 
that  these  gifts  were  an  addition  to  other  sacrifices,  and  never 
stood  by  themselves.  This,  therefore,  excludes  the  notion  of 
men's  own  righteousness. 

Ver.  3.  Of  the  offerings. — The  priests  were  in  the  sacrifices 
the  mediators  between  the  Lord  and  the  people.  As  they  offer 
also  on  their  own  behalf,  and  then  are  reminded  of  their  place 
among  the  people ;  so  did  they,  in  many  sacrifices  (as  in  this 
especially),  represent  the  place  of  the  Lord  Himself.  They  who 
served  at  the  altar  were  to  live  by  the  altar  ;  and  the  priests 
receiving  a  part  of  the  sacrifices,  the  people  presented  them  to 
the  Lord.  In  the  New  Testament  there  is  no  more  a  human 
mediator  between  God  and  man.  But  in  the  place  of  the  priests, 
stands  that  which  is  the  channel  of  the  sinner's  relation  to  God 
— the  Christian  Church  itself — as  an  institution  for  the  sancti- 
fication  and  training  of  sinful  men  in  their  search  after  holiness. 
In  every  re})eatcd  surrender  of  the  heart  by  fresh  obedience  in 
good  works,  is  the  Church  of  the  Lord,  the  priestly  ])eople  of 
God,  to  have  its  share  in  our  sacrifices,  and  in  the  church,  its 
servants,  oftices,  institutions  for  spreading  the  Word,  etc. — Of 
the  sacrifices,  which  are  called  "  most  holy,"  the  priests  alone 
received  their  portion  ;  of  the  thank-offerings,  which  are  called 
merely  "  holy,"  the  sacrificers  themselves  partook  together  with 
the  priests.  The  "  most  hoi}'"  is  all  which  exclusively  refers  to 
the  restoration  and  establishment  of  man's  relation  to  the  Lord ; 
the  "  holy"  is  that  wherein  man  appears  in  union  with  God. 

Ver.  11.  With  leaven. — Leaven  was  regarded  as  unclean,  be- 
cause it  was  the  cause  of  fermentation,  and  so  of  decomposition, 


368  LEVITICUS  II,  12-16. 

corruption ;  cf.  Exod.  xii.  1 ;  and  the  general  prohibition,  Exod. 
xxiii.  18,  ch.  xxxiv.  25.  The  same  appears  to  have  been  the 
reason  for  the  prohibition  of  honey.  This  is  also  a  means  of 
fermentation — was,  at  least,  used  for  this  purpose  by  the  later 
Jews,  as  an  excess  of  it  produces  acidity  in  the  stomach.  Every 
kind  of  corruptness  ought  to  be  far  from  the  new  obedience 
which  we  offer  to  God,  whether  it  be  originally  sour  or  sweet  to 
the  carnal  appetite. 

Ver.  12.  Be  burnt ;  because  both  were  in  and  for  themselves 
not  impure ;  because  good  and  useful  under  circumstances,  an 
emblem  of  corruption  only  when  mingled  with  something  else. 

Ver.  13.  Ojfer  salt. — Salt  is  the  exact  opposite  of  leaven  and 
honey,  fermenting  materials.  Salt  imparts  life,  preserves  from 
corruption,  and  makes  every  kind  of  food  whofesome  and 
savoury.  Plants  cannot  thrive  in  a  ground  or  from  moisture 
whence  all  saline  property  is  extracted.  Salt  at  sacrifices  is 
called  "  covenant  salt ;  "  since  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  pre- 
sent the  tasting  of  salt  is  customary  in  all  agreements  in  the 
East,  and  signifies  the  truth  and  permanence  which  belongs  to 
a  covenant :  cf.  in  N.  T.  St  Matt.  v.  13,  note;  St  Mark  ix.  49, 
note. 

Ver.  14.  Beaten  out;  lit.  Heb.,  "  beaten  out  of  the  garden  ;" 
i.e.,  a  kind  of  meal  or  grits  of  the  finest  field-fruits,  and  therefore 
such  as  are  planted  in  the  garden. 

Ver.  16.  Frankincense. — The  priests  received  a  portion  of  the 
corn  and  oil,  but,  as  is  evident,  not  of  the  frankincense,  since 
this,  as  an  emblem  of  prayer,  could  only  be  pleasing  to  the  Lord 
Himself ;  while  in  the  sacrifice  which  the  other  gifts  represented 
the  ministers  of  the  Lord  could  and  ought  to  have  their  portion. 
— The  firstlings,  therefore,  of  all  fruits,  as  of  the  cattle  also,  were 
sacrificed,  and  thereby  a  solemn  confession  made,  that  the  Lord 
is  the  supreme  Possessor  of  the  land,  to  whom  they  must  give  all 
did  He  require  it.  To  Him  they  offered  the  first  and  the  best 
in  acknowledgment  of  this  truth.  These  gifts  of  the  first-fruits 
were  also  the  chief  maintenance  of  the  priests,  which  were  at  the 
same  time  marks  of  respect  to  them,  as  they  only  formed  a  part 
of  the  oflPerings  made  to  the  supreme  Lord  of  the  land,  the 
Creator  of  the  world.  The  priests  were  by  every  such  gift 
attested  afresh  as  intercessors  with  God  for  the  people,  and 
every  property  received   thereby   its   consecration.     The   only 


LEVITICUS  III.  369 

rightful  claim  to  it  was  now  established  by  the  declaration  that 
it  was  possessed  from  the  Lord  and  for  the  Lord.  Cf.  upon  this 
in  the  book  of  the  laws  of  the  covenant,  Exod.  xxii.  29,  note. 


CHAPTER  IIL 

Another  and  a  much  smaller  class  of  sacrifices  are  the  thank- 
offerings.  Their  name  ("  Schelem  ;"  in  the  plural,  "  sch'lamim") 
has  the  sense  of  "  payment,"  "  recompense,"  "  compensation," 
"  removing  of  a  debt,"  out  of  which  issued  the  condition  of  peace 
(Schalom) ;  and  so  these  sacrifices  were  called  also  "peace-offer- 
ings." Indeed,  they  cannot  with  propriety  be  called  merely 
"  thank-offerings,"  since  we  find  distinct  traces  that  they  were 
also  offered  as  prayer-offerings,  though  only  together  with  burnt- 
sacrifices  (cf.  Exod.  xxiv.  5 ;  1  Sam.  xi.  15  ;  2  Sam.  vi.  18 ; 
1  Kings  viii.  63 ;  and  the  notes  on  Judges  xx.  26  and  ch.  xxi. 
4).  By  means  of  the  burnt-sacrifice  man  made  an  entire  sur- 
render of  himself  to  God ;  by  the  trespass-offering  was  his  par- 
ticular sin  cleansed ;  by  the  compensation  or  payment-oft'ering 
he  laid  before  God  his  own  peculiar  thanksgiving,  or  his  pecu- 
liar petition.  Although  the  burnt-sacrifice  was  the  most  com- 
prehensive, because  the  original,  sacrifice,  yet  was  the  thank- 
oftering  generally  distinguished  from  it.  Hence  burnt-ofierings 
and  peace-offerings  are  often  mentioned  together  for  all  kinds  of 
sacrifices  (Joshua  viii.  31 ;  Judges  xx.  26 ;  1  Chron.  xvi.  1,  2). 
In  this  oftering  man  desired  (emblematically)  to  remove  the  dis- 
tance which  existed  between  God  and  himself  through  benefits 
shown  or  to  be  shown  him  by  God.  And  so  in  this  offering 
the  vicarious  representation  and  the  atonement  is  not  wanting, 
and  the  self-surrender  takes  place.  But  there  follows  on  this,  as 
the  peculiarity  of  this  kind  of  sacrifice,  a  sacrificial  meal ;  an 
emblem  of  the  communion  of  peace  now  completely  restored  be- 
tween the  Lord  and  man,  God  now  making  man  to  sit  down  at 
His  table  (Deut.  xii.  12,  17,  18,  ch.  xiv.  23,  ch.  xxvii.  7).  From 
this  main  signification  of  the  tliank-offerings  are  explained  all  its 
particular  customs,  and  its  difierent  kinds, —  the  thanksgiving- 
offering  (ch.  vii.  12),  the  vow-ofi'ering  (ch.  vii.  16),  and  the  free- 

2  A 


370  LEVITICUS  III.  1-5. 

will  offerings  (ch.  xxii.  23). — The  first  and  most  important  of  all 
acts,  in  its  relation  to  God,  is  the  entire  surrender  of  their  own 
person  by  propitiation  and  consecration  represented  in  the  burnt- 
sacrifice.  But,  together  with  this,  man  feels  his  need  expressly 
to  give  utterance  to  his  thanks,  partly  for  general,  partly  for 
especial  benefits  of  the  Lord  towards  him,  and  to  make  known 
before  Him  all  his  sentiments,  and  then  to  rejoice  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  renewed  communion  with  God.  While  the  "  most 
holy"  sacrifices  (the  burnt-offerings  and  trespass-offerings)  had 
especially  in  view  God's  honour  in  the  doing  away  of  sin,  and  in 
the  surrender  of  man  to  Him,  this  "  holy"  offering  aimed  like- 
wise at  the  sanctification  of  man  in  relation  to  Him,  which 
follows  from  reconciliation  and  self-surrender. 

Ver.  1.  Male,  or  female. — For  the  thank-offerings,  in  distinc- 
tion from  the  burnt-ofiFerings  (ch.  i.  3),  female  animals  might  also 
be  taken,  because  they  were  not  so  holy. 

Without  blemish. — This  rule  was  not  without  exception,  namely, 
in  one  kind  of  thank-oflfering — the  free-will  oflFering  (Nedaboth, 
ch.  xxii.  23). 

Ver.  3.  Imoards. — The  fat  about  the  peritoneum  and  the  fat 
about  the  entrails. 

Ver.  4.  Caul. — All  the  fat,  which  on  the  opening  was  imme- 
diately severed,  was  to  be  sacrificed  as  the  choicest  part  of  the 
animal,  not  the  fat  with  which  the  flesh  has  mixed. 

Ver.  5.  Upon  the  burnt-sacrifice ;  i.e.,  in  addition  to  the  burnt- 
sacrifice — properly,  "  on  the  burnt-sacrifice." 

Sweet  savour. — The  customs  used  in  the  thank-offering  are 
not  here  circumstantially  described.  In  a  later  Jewish  writing 
on  the  sacrifices,  they  are  thus  detailed: — "After  the  priest  has 
sprinkled  the  blood  and  taken  out  the  entrails,  he  cut  the  flesh 
into  ])ieces,  and  divided  the  breast  and  right  shoulder  from  the 
rest  (ch.  vii.  30,  32),  and  laid  the  entrails  with  the  breast  and 
the  shoulder  in  the  owner's  hand,  and  the  priest  laid  his  hands 
under  those  of  the  owner  and  waved  all  before  the  Lord  on  the 
east  side  of  the  altar.  Then  he  took  the  bread  which  was  brought 
with  the  sacrifice,  and  laid  all,  with  the  breast,  the  shoulder,  and 
the  entrails,  on  the  owner's  hands,  and  waved  all  on  his  hands. 
First  he  laid  the  fat  on  the  owner's  hands,  then  the  shoulder, 
and  then  the  breast  on  it ;  thereupon  he  salted  the  entrails,  and 
burned  them  all  on  the  altar :  but  the  breast  and  the  shoulder  the 


LEVITICUS  III.  9,  17  ;   IV.  371 

priests  ate,  and  the  rest  the  owner — but  they  did  not  get  tliem 
until  the  entrails  were  burned.  In  like  manner,  the  bread 
whicli  was  waved  with  the  sacrifice  was  eaten  by  the  priests, 
and  the  rest  by  the  owners.  If  two  or  more  persons  together 
brought  a  thank-offering,  one  waved  it  for  all.  If  a  woman  was 
the  sacrificer,  she  did  not  wave  it,  but  the  priest.  A  woman 
never  waved  except  in  the  jealousy-offering.  Num.  v.,  and  a 
Nazarite  vow,  Num.  vi." 

Ver.  9.  Backbone. — The  fat  tail  of  the  sheep  of  tlie  East, 
which  was  esteemed  the  best  piece :  cf.  Exod.  xxix.  22,  note. 

Ver.  17.  Neither  fat  nor  Mood. — The  context  shows  that  this 
prohibition  was  no  rule  for  the  sake  of  health,  nor  a  prescript 
whicli  was  intended  to  separate  Israel  from  the  heathen ;  but  the 
fat  was  to  belong  to  the  Lord  as  the  best  part  of  the  victim. 
The  reason  of  the'  prohibition  of  blood  is  given,  ch.  xvii.  10-12  ; 
viz.,  because  the  blood  was  intended  as  an  atonement  for  the 
life  of  the  sacrificer.  It  is  self-evident,  therefore,  from  this,  that 
after  the  cessation  of  sacrifices,  the  prohibition  of  the  apostolic 
council  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xv.  20,  29)  must  cease. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

There  now  follows  a  class  of  sacrifices  which  belong  to  "  the 
most  holy"  (ch.  vi.  25,  ch.  x.  17),  because  they  were  the  channel 
of  the  whole  relation  of  the  people  to  the  Lord  (cf.  Exod.  xxx.  10, 
note).  The  yearly  great  sin-offering  on  the  day  of  atonement 
(ch.  xvi.)  was  the  chief  act  of  sacrifice  of  the  whole  year.  But 
as  in  this  sacrifice  the  Divine  completion  of  the  atonement  was 
performed  by  the  act,  by  the  sprinkling  of  blood,  in  the  most 
solemn  manner  possible,  so  was  it  also  in  the  ordinary  sin-offer- 
ings. The  idea  of  atonement  was  marked  by  a  particular 
solemnity.  The  high  priest  was,  at  his  own  sin-offering,  to 
sprinkle  the  blood  seven  times  in  the  holy  place,  towards  the 
veil  of  the  sanctuary  (ver.  6).  The  same  was  done  for  the  con- 
gregation (ver.  17).  The  horns  of  the  altar  were  besmeared 
with  the  blood  of  the  atonement  for  the  princes  and  the  congre- 
gation (ver.  25,  34).     Moreover,  it  was  peculiar  to  the  sin-offer- 


372  LEVITICUS  IV. 

ing,  that  all  of  the  animals  whose  blood  came  into  the  holy  place, 
or  the  most  holy,  with  the  exception  of  the  fat,  the  skin,  the 
flesh,  and  the  dung,  was  burnt  on  the  heap  of  ashes  before  the 
camp.  But  of  the  other  animals,  only  the  fat  was  burnt ;  the 
flesh,  on  the  contrary,  was  eaten  by  the  priests  in  the  holy  place. 
All  Avhich  the  blood  had  touched  must  be  cleansed  (ch.  vi.  26-28). 
Lastly,  it  is  nowhere  said  that  a  meat-offering  was  an  adjunct  to 
the  sin-oflfering. — All  this  was  significant.  The  sprinkling  of 
blood,  the  Divine  completion  of  the  atonement,  is  here  more 
prominently  set  forth.  Seven  times  (the  sacred  number)  is  the 
blood  sprinkled  in  the  holy  place.  It  is  put  on  the  horns  of  the 
altar,  which  denoted  the  altar's  strength  and  meaning.  The  blood 
which  had  served  for  the  most  holy  means  of  atonement  might 
nowhere  remain  visible,  not  because  it  was  reckoned  unclean  (since 
it  was  already  shed,  the  sin-laden  soul  was  given  to  death  as  the 
punishment  of  sin),  but  because,  as  the  most  holy  means  of  atone- 
ment, it  would  have  been  defiled  in  any  other  place.  The  flesh  of 
the  sin-offering  of  the  high  priest  and  of  the  whole  congregation 
was  burnt  without  the  camp,  in  a  clean  place,  on  the  heap  of 
ashes.  It  could  not  be  eaten  by  the  priests  if  the  most  holy 
among  the  people,  or  if  all  the  people,  were  to  be  atoned  for ;  but 
it  must  in  some  way,  though  after  a  clean  fashion,  be  removed. 
It  might  not  be  burnt  on  the  altar,  because  it  was  intended  to 
represent,  not  a  gift  to  God,  as  in  the  case  of  the  burnt-sacrifice, 
but  an  atonement  above  all  else.  And  although,  in  the  other 
sin-offerings,  the  priests  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  consumed  the 
victim,  still  this  act  was  a  part  of  the  atonement  to  be  com- 
pleted. Those  who  were  consecrated  to  the  Lord  (not  their 
families,  ch.  vi.  29)  ate  it,  in  order  thereby  to  wipe  away  the  sin 
of  the  people,  ch.  x.  17;  since,  through  their  holiness  granted 
them  from  the  Lord,  their  sin  was  as  much  expiated  as,  through 
the  forehead-plate  of  the  high  priest,  the  sinfulness  which  clave 
to  all  sacrifices  (Exod.  xxviii.  38,  note). — In  this  way  were  all 
the  sins  atoned  for  which  did  not  imply  a  purposed  rebellion 
against  the  Lord.  He  who  sinned  "  presumptuously "  (Heb., 
"  with  a  high  hand,"  Num.  xv.  30),  that  soul  shall  be  destroyed. 
As  such  presumptuous  sins,  were  regarded  all  intentional  vio- 
lation of  the  ritual  laws,  because  in  this  there  lay  an  open 
rebellion  against  the  supreme  authority.  For  murder  and  adul- 
tery there  could  in  like  manner  no  sin-offering  be  brought. 


LEVITICUS  IV.  2,  3.  373 

For  these  the  punishment  of  death  was  appointed,  and  sacrifice 
was  the  giving  of  an  innocent  life  for  a  guilty  one.  Other  civil 
offences — as  theft,  cheating,  even  in  certain  cases  perjury, 
adultery  with  a  female  slave  (ch.  xix.,  xx.,  xxi.,  xxii.) — were 
atoned  for  by  the  trespass-offering,  and  were  therefore  also  cases 
for  sin-offering.  Accordingly,  we  may  suppose  that  such  trans- 
gressions of  the  social  laws  for  which  there  was  no  punishment 
at  all,  or  none  specified  in  the  law — as  usury  (Exod.  xxii.  25), 
or  mistake  in  the  t)bservance  of  the  ritual  law  (as  when  any  one 
continued  his  work  after  the  Sabbath  had  begun  without  his 
knowing  it) — these  were  the  most  frequent  cases  for  the  sin-offer- 
ings. Sins  were  therefore  atoned  for  through  it,  in  which  a  man 
was  by  no  means  guiltless — not  merely  had  taken  part  in  others' 
guilt — but  sins  of  culpable  weakness  and  ignorance.  Further, 
the  sin-offerings  relate  to  certain  definite  sins.  They  were  not 
the  channel  of  the  entire  communion  with  the  Lord,  but  the 
restoration  of  it  after  its  violation  by  some  definite  act.  In  this 
point  of  view,  they  teach  the  Christian  the  necessity  of  seeking  , 
in  every  single  sin  (as  soon  as  he  is  aware  of  it)  the  renewal  of 
pardon  t-  rough  the  all-sufficient  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  show  how  this  act  of  daily  renewal  and  foi'giveness  belongs 
to  the  most  holy  part  of  our  spiritual  worship,  and  how  all  which 
relates  thereto  is  most  sacred.  Also  the  men  consecrated  to  the 
Lord  have  their  parts  and  duties  in  this  sin-offering.  The  Lord 
has  ordained  even  in  the  N.  T.  that  the  assurance  of  forgiveness 
should  be  conveyed  through  men  ;  and  although  no  priest  has 
the  exclusive  right  to  impart  this,  yet  is  it  a  consolatory,  faith- 
strenMhenino;  institution,  to  receive  this  assurance  throuo;h  the 
appointed  servants  of  the  Lord  in  His  congregation. 

Ver.  2.  Through  ignorance. — A  sin  is  therefore  meant,  of 
which,  at  the  time  of  its  commission,  a  person  was  not  perfectly 
conscious  that  it  was  a  sin.  Here  it  is  the  part  of  the  law  espe- 
cially to  inculcate  the  truth,  that  not  merely  the  conscious  par- 
ticipation in  any  act  is  a  sin,  but  the  act  in  and  for  itself,  as  an 
offence  against  God,  as  a  violation  of  His  order,  as  the  first 
example  sliows. 

Ought  not  to  he  done. — Lit.,  "  sins  (and  does  one)  of  all  the 
commandments  of  the  Lord,  which  ought  not  to  be  done;"  i.e., 
one  of  all  the  prohibitions. 

Ver.  3.  jinointed ;  i.e.,  the  high  priest.     The  high  priest,  by 


374  LEVITICUS  IV.  7-22. 

his  sin,  can  no  longer  be  the  person  capable  of  sanctifying  the 
people  to  the  Lord.  He  has  accordingly,  by  his  sin,  brought 
guilt  on  the  whole  people ;  he  has  committed  an  (objective)  vio- 
lation of  the  Divine  order  which  he  must  make  good  again. 
For  more  on  this  subject  see  ch.  v.,  introd.  on  trespass-offer- 
ings. 

Ver.  7.  Tabernacle. — This  is  not  the  sprinkling  of  blood,  which 
has  already  been  done,  but  merely  the  pouring  away  of  what  re- 
mains over  and  above  in  a  holy  place.  The  atonement  takes 
place  here  in  an  especially  solemn  manner.  As  the  priests  in 
the  people's  stead  perform  their  service  to  God  in  the  holy  place, 
so  the  sprinkling  of  blood  is  made  here,  and  not  at  the  altar  of 
burnt  sacrifice.  The  blood  is  sprinkled  towards  the  veil,  behind 
w^hich  are  the  ark  of  the  covenant  and  the  mercy-seat,  in  order 
to  represent,  as  it  were  before  God,  the  life  which  is  given  to 
death  for  sin.  The  blood  is  put  on  the  horns  of  the  altar  of  in- 
cense, Avhich  is  the  holier  one,  instead  of  the  altar  of  burnt- 
sacrifice.  From  the  former  at  other  times  only  prayer  arises. — 
What  could  be  a  stronger  exhortation  to  spotless  holiness  in  the 
high  priest  than  this  act  of  sacrifice,  which  clearly  bore  witness 
that  sin  was  not  less  flagrant  in  him,  but  far  more  so,  than  in 
any  one  else  ? 

Ver.  12.  Ashes  of  the  other  sacrifices. 

Be  burnt. — From  the  circumstance  that  the  flesh  of  the  sacri- 
fice was  burnt  without  the  camp,  we  are  by  no  means  to  infer  its 
uncleanness,  any  more  than  from  the  customs  at  the  feast  of 
atonement  (ch.  xvi.  27,  28).  A  "clean  place"  is  expressly 
prescribed,  on  which  it  might  be  burnt  with  fire.  Every  other 
place  within  the  camp  would  rather  have  exposed  the  holy  flesh 
to  pollution,  as  for  this  cause  also  the  blood  was  carefully  taken 
away. 

Ver.  15.  The  elders,  as  representatives  of  the  whole  congre- 
gation. 

Ver.  21.  For  the  congregation. — Up  to  the  laying  on  of  hands 
by  the  elders,  all  is  here  done  as  in  the  former  sin-offering.  In 
the  former  case  the  priest,  here  the  elders,  lay  their  hands  on  the 
bullock.  It  was  intended  to  represent  by  this  how  the  high 
priest  stands  in  the  place  of  the  whole  congregation,  and  again, 
how  the  whole  people  is  a  kingdom  of  priests  (Exod.  xix.  6). 

Ver.  22.  A  ruler. — A  head  of  a  tribe. 


LEVITICUS  IV.  25,  28  ;    V.  375 

Ver.  25.  Pour  out. — Cf.  ver.  7,  note. 

Ver.   28.    A   hid   of  the  goats. — This  is  the   difference   (cf. 
ver.  32),  while  the  ruler  is  only  to  bring  a  male  animal. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  trespass-offering  is  yet  distinguished  from  the  sin-offering. 
Only  a  ram — no  female  sheep  (eh.  iv.  32)  as  it  seems,  and  no 
otlier  animal — could  be  taken  for  the  trespass-offering.  In  the 
sprinkling  of  blood  it  was  like  the  burnt-offering  (eh.  vii.  2).  In 
respect  to  the  burning  of  the  fat  and  the  portion  of  the  priest,  it 
resembled  the  sin-offering  (ch.  vii.  7).  The  first  shows  that  the 
off'erino;  was  of  more  weight  and  sio-nificance  than  the  sin-off'er- 
ing ;  the  second,  that  in  reference  to  the  atonement,  which  was 
the  main  point  in  the  sin-offering,  it  was  not  equal  to  this  latter, 
but  its  chief  importance  lay  elsewhere.  Besides  the  occasions 
here  brought  forward,  mention  is  made  of  a  trespass- offering  in 
the  case  of  unchastity  with  a  slave  (ch.  xix.  20-22) ;  of  nninten- 
tional  defilement  during  a  Nazaritish  vow  (ch.  vi.  9-12) ;  and 
on  the  occasion  of  pronouncing  the  cleanness  of  a  leper  (ch.  xiv. 
12,  21)  ;  also,  in  later  times,  in  the  case  of  those  who  had  taken  to 
themselves  strange  wives  (Ezra  x.  19).  The  word  "  sin  "  means 
in  Heb.  a  wandering  from  the  right  way ;  the  word  "  trespass  " 
signifies  a  violation  of  a  right — a  robbing,  which  requires  resti- 
tution— a  debt.  By  every  sin  man  transgresses  against  God,  and 
is  bound  to  make  restitution.  But  a  trespass  may  be  imagined 
which  is  without  sin.  The  whole  law,  with  all  its  institutions 
and  regulations — an  emanation  from  the  will  of  God,  His  per- 
petual ordinance — might  even  without  man's  knowing  it  be 
transgressed  by  him.  The  ritual  law  was  given  to  the  people  of 
God  for  the  very  purpose  of  reminding  them  of  the  statutes  and 
guidance  of  God,  which  encompassed  them  at  all  times.  If  now 
this  holy,  irrefragable  ordinance  was  broken  by  man  even  with- 
out sin,  yet  thereby  man  had  committed  a  trespass  against  God, 
for  which  he  was  bound  to  compensate.  And  therefore  the 
cases  in  which  a  trespass-offering  was  to  be  made  Avcre  of  two 
kinds  :  those  where,  in  the  sin,  the  idea  of  guilt  was  peculiarly 


376  LEVITICUS  V.  1-4. 

prominent,  where  God  had  been  robbed  of  something,  and  where, 
therefore,  besides  the  customary  atonement  and  repentance,  a 
restitution  ought  to  be  made  to  God  ;  and  those,  where  a  man 
had  contracted  guilt  quite  unconsciously  without  sin,  but  had 
thereby  violated  what  belonged  to  God.  In  the  first  named 
cases  of  our  chap.  (ver.  1-13),  the  compensation  for  the  offence 
consists  not  of  a  trespass,  but  of  a  sin  and  burnt-offering.  As 
every  sin  was  a  trespass,  so  was  every  sin-offering  likewise  a  tres- 
pass-offering. On  the  other  hand,  in  the  rest  of  the  cases  nar- 
rated, and  in  the  others  mentioned  in  the  O.  T.,  a  particular 
trespass-offering  is  prescribed  as  restitution  of  a  robbery  directly 
or  indirectly  committed  against  God. 

Ver.  1.  Voice  of  sxcearing. — An  oath,  adjuration.  The  man- 
ner of  the  swearing  of  a  witness  was  this  :  the  judge  administered 
a  form  of  oath  to  the  witness,  who  thereupon  brought  forth  his 
depositions,  which  were  then  regarded  as  an  oath. 

His  miquity  ;  i.  e.,  the  guilt  of  a  trespass  lies  upon  him.  The 
case  is  this  :  If  any  one  has  been  a  witness  to  any  act,  either  an 
eye-witness  or  in  any  other  way,  and  is  summoned  before  the 
judge  to  give  his  evidence  on  oath,bu.  has, for  some  reason  or  other, 
either  been  silent  on  some  point  or  denied  his  cognisance  of  it. 
;  Ver.  2.  Hidden. — And  therefore  has  omitted  the  legal  purifica- 
tion, treated  himself  as  one  clean. 

Ver.  4.  Knoioeth  of  it. — The  case  is  this :  A  man,  from  incon- 
siderateness,  swears  that  he  will  do  some  person  harm,  and  he 
perceives  afterwards  that  he  may  not  do  it ;  or  to  do  good,  and  he 
perceives  afterwards  that  he  cannot  keep  his  promise.  In  both 
cases  the  person  is  not  guilty  of  anything  ;  but  the  oath  contains 
at  the  same  time  a  vow  to  God, — towards  Him  is  he  bound  to 
make  payment  as  for  a  trespass,  in  punishment  of  his  inconsider- 
ate oath.  In  the  four  cases  here  mentioned,  there  stand  together 
two  trespasses  committed  unknowingly  and  without  guilt  (ver. 
2  and  3),  and  two  out  of  inconsiderate  haste — of  which  the  first 
approaches  very  nearly  the  sin  of  a  wilful  breach  of  an  oath. 
That  which  the  four  cases  have  in  common  is  this  :  that  both 
in  the  oath  and  in  the  legal  defilement,  God's  (objective)  ordi- 
nance has  been  broken — has  been  violated.  Independently  of 
the  particular  sin,  the  son  of  the  covenant  of  God  is  bound  to 
keep  inviolate  the  property  and  rights  of  his  Lord  and  King, 
and  to  do  by  way  of  restitution  all  which  God  prescribes ;  other- 


LEVITICUS  V.  12-15.  377 

wise,  an  act  which  at  first  was  an  unwitting  commission,  or  whicli 
has  before  men  been  made  good,  becomes  a  positive  sin.  Every 
other  which  has  not  been  kept, — even  that  which  we  ought  not 
only  not  to  keep,  but  which  we  are  bound  to  break  (as,  e.  g.,  the 
oath  of  Herod,  St  Mark  vi.  23), — this  brings  upon  us  guilt  in 
tlie  sight  of  God.  We  are  also,  as  Christians,  bound  in  such  a 
sad  case,  by  an  open,  solemn  act,  to  preserve  God's  honour  in- 
violate before  men — to  sanctify  the  Lord. 

Ver.  12.  Sin-offering. — The  sin-offering  which  is  to  be  made 
in  this  case,  is  called  his  "  trespass  "  (his  "  Ascham,"  the  name 
also  for  the  trespass-offering)  ;  he  brings  it  thereby  to  the  Lord, 
as  afterwards  (ver.  7)  by  the  burnt-offering  to  be  added  to  the 
offering  of  birds,  or  the  unbloody  offering  (ver.  11).  As  the  sin- 
offering  is  always  at  the  same  time  a  trespass-offering,  the  tres- 
pass may  also  be  wiped  away  in  every  one  of  that  kind,  i.e..,  sin- 
offering.  It  is,  however,  remarkable,  that  in  the  regulations 
concerning  the  sin-offering  in  general  (ch.  iv.  27,  etc.),  nothing 
is  said  of  an  offering  of  birds  or  meal ;  consequently,  only  in 
this  case,  where  the  sin-offering  is  especially  designated  as  a 
trespass-bearing,  is  that  exchange  allowed.  This  would  I'epre- 
sent  the  trespass-offering  not  as  less  than  the  other,  but  as  even 
more  needful,  since  the  poorest  person,  who  could  only  bring 
meal,  was  bound  to  make  it. 

Ver.  14.  Spake  unto  Moses. — From  this  place  follow  the  cases 
in  which  a  trespass-offering  with  its  particular  customs  was 
to  be  brought,  not  by  way  of  compensation  as  a  sin  or  burnt- 
offering. 

Ver.  15.  Trespass-offering. — Lit.:  "  When  a  soul  commits  a 
trespass  thereby,  that  it  sins  in  eri'or  against  the  holy  things  of 
the  Lord,  it  shall  bring  its  trespass  to  the  Lord  :  a  ram  without 
blemish  out  of  the  flocks  according  to  thy  estimation,  silver  in 
shekels  according  to  the  shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  as  its  trespass  " 
(or  "its  trespass-offering").  This  refers  particularly  to  the  holy 
payments  of  all  kinds,  the  holy  head-money  (Exod.  xxx.  12), 
the  tithes,  the  first-fruits,  etc.  The  case  is  that,  not  of  innocent, 
but  of  blameable  ignorance,  and  would,  accordingly,  properly 
belong  to  a  sin-offering.  But  not  the  (subjective)  forgiveness, 
but  the  (objective)  wrong  done  to  God's  possession,  here  comes 
under  consideration.  This  requires  express  compensation,  which 
is  afforded,  not  through  a  sin-offering,  but  by  a  ram  as  tres- 


378  LEVITICUS  V.  16,  17  ;   VI.  2-9. 

pass-ofFering.  The  priest  estimates  the  trespass  in  the  sacred 
money,  and  the  ram  must  be  of  this  value.  If  one  ram  did  not 
suffice  for  removing  the  trespass,  then  it  seems  more  must  be 
offered. — Whether  in  this  and  the  following  cases  a  sin-offering 
went  before  or  with  the  trespass-offering,  is  not  said  ;  but  it  may 
fairly  be  inferred  that  not  every  trespass  was  a  sin,  and  not 
every  trespass-offering  to  be  regarded  as  a  sin-offering ;  and 
where,  for  other  reasons,  it  was  a  case  for  a  sin-offering,  that  then 
the  guilty  person  was  not  exempt  from  it  for  the  sake  of  the  tres- 
pass-offering. 

Ver.  16.  Forgiven  him. — The  trespass- offering  was  the  symbo- 
lical payment,  the  compensation  in  a  higher  sense  to  God.  To 
this  must  yet  be  added  the  outward  payment,  that  the  two 
might  not  be  confounded.  A  fifth  was  added  thereto,  as  some- 
thing more  is  always  offered  in  every  compensation.  The  priest 
received  it  as  God's  deputy,  to  whom  the  purloined  or  withholden 
gift  ought  to  have  been  made. 

Ver.  17.  Wist  it  not. — This  must  be  carefully  distinguished 
from  the  "ignorance"  in  ver.  15,  and  ch.  iv.  13,  22,  27.  Here 
is  meant  a  not  knowing  which  is  entirely  without  blame,  as  with 
the  people  in  the  case,  ch.  iv.  3. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Ver.  2.  Fellowship. — Lit.,  "or  inlaying  of  the  hand;"  i.e.,  in 
a  solemn  promise,  namely,  such  an  one  as  concerns  the  property. 

Ver.  6.  Priest. — Lit. :  "  And  his  trespass  shall  he  bring  to  the 
Lord,  a  ram  from  the  herd  according  to  thy  estimation,  a  tres- 
pass-offering to  the  priest."  Together  with  full  restitution  to  the 
possessor,  which  in  particular  thefts  amounted  to  double,  nay, 
to  four  or  five  times  as  much  (Exod.  xxii.  1),  restitution  was 
also  to  be  made  to  the  Lord  God,  since,  according  to  ver.  2,  the 
transgressor  had  laid  hands  on  the  Lord's  possession.  Nothing 
could  more  completely  than  this  regulation  keep  alive  and 
strengthen  the  belief  that  God  is  the  supreme  and  only  Possessor, 
and  nothing  could  more  completely  impress  on  the  mind  the 
holiness  of  social  order. 

Ver.  9.  Burning  in  it;  i.e.,  it  shall  be  the  nourishment  for 


LEVITICUS  VI.  10-18.  o79 

every  fire  that  comes  on  the  altar.  It  is  evident  that  the  fire 
burning  continually,  which  was  kept  up  by  the  daily  burnt- 
offering  (Exod.  xxix.  38),  had  a  symbolical  meaning.  As  the 
daily  burnt-sacrifice  betokened  the  daily  renewed  gift  to  God,  in 
like  manner  did  this  continually  burning  fire  denote  the  unceas- 
ing, uninterrupted  character  of  the  same.  Similar  customs  Avith 
the  heathen  had  a  different  sirrnification.  Among;  the  Persians 
(and  among  the  Parsees  in  India  at  this  day),  fire  was  the  visible 
representative  of  the  godhead;  the  continual  burning  of  it,  the 
emblem  of  eternity.  The  pei'petual  fire  of  Vesta  (the  "  oldest 
goddess ")  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  was  the  emblem  of 
the  inmost,  purest  warmth  of  life,  which  unites  family  and 
people — the  hearth,  as  it  were,  the  heart  of  the  house  or  of  a 
state.  In  both  is  shown  the  essential  difference  which  existed 
between  these  and  the  Divine  covenant-religion. 

Ver.  10.  Upon  his  flesh. — Exod.  xxviii.  39,  42.  The  gar- 
ments of  the  finest,  brightest  linen  or  cotton,  showed  immediately 
every  speck,  whether  caused  by  the  things  used  in  sacrifice,  or  by 
impurity  of  any  other  kind.  The  under-garments  typified  the 
subjugation  of  all  fleshly  desire  during  the  sacred  service. 

Ver.  11.  Other  (jarments. — Therefore,  at  every  fresh  burnt- 
sacrifice,  consequently  twice  a  day,  the  priests  changed  their 
clothes. 

Ver.  18.  Shall  he  hohj. — The  participation  in  the  sacrifices 
was  certainly  a  gift  of  the  people  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
priests  ;  but  this  was  only  a  secondary  object  in  it,  since  the 
eating  of  them  itself  had  a  symbolical  meaning.  The  unleavened 
food  (not  in  a  state  of  fermentation  or  corruption),  eaten  in  a  holy 
place  and  only  by  the  consecrated  priests  (with  the  exce]ition  of 
their  fiimilies),  typified  the  participation  acceptable  to  God,  which 
the  people's  gifts  prepared  for  Him.  The  priests  partook  there- 
of, properly,  in  God's  stead.  There  were,  therefore,  different 
relations  of  man  to  God  and  of  God  to  man  represented  in  the 
burnt-offering  which  was  entirely  consumed,  the  smoke  of  which 
ascended  to  heaven  as  a  well-pleasing  savour,  and  in  the  meat- 
offerings which  were  oidy  partly  burnt,  but  chiefly  eaten  by  the 
priests.  Upon  the  surrender,  the  reconciliation,  the  acceptance 
of  the  whole  man,  followed  the  pai'ticular  virtues  and  works  well- 
pleasing  to  God,  which  were  the  Lord's  daily,  perpetual  joy  in 
His  people. 


380  LEVITICUS  VI.  20-30  ;   VII.  4-12. 

Ver.  20.  Anointed. — When  he  or  one  of  his  descendants  is 
anointed  as  high  priest. 

Ver.  21.  Made  loith  oil. — Heb.,  "often  turned  in  oil,"  that 
it  may  be  completely  saturated  with  it.  The  emblem  of  the  oil 
is  everywhere  conspicuous  in  this  ceremony. 

Ver.  22.  Wholly  burnt. — Quite  naturally,  since  no  one  could 
stand  in  stead  of  him  wdio  consumed  the  sacrifice  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord. 

Ver.  28.  Broken. — Because  in  earthen  vessels  which  were  not 
glazed  the  blood  would  unavoidably  penetrate.  The  blood  did 
not  defile  the  vessel ;  but  could  itself,  as  the  holy  means  of  atone- 
ment, be  defiled  in  and  on  the  vessels. 

Rinse. — As  in  the  sin-oflPering  the  atonement  was  the  main 
point,  this  was  done  here  more  than  in  the  other  sacrifices,  in 
order  to  point  to  the  blood  as  the  means  of  atonement. 

Ver.  30.  Burnt. — For  the  same  reason  as  ver.  23. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Ver.  4.  The  liver. — That  which  hangs  over  the  lobe,  as  ch.  iii.  4. 

Ver.  7.  One  Icno — In  this  respect,  that  all  the  flesh  falls  to  the 
priest,  they  are  both  alike. 

Ver.  8.  Hath  offered. — The  burnt-offering  is  peculiarly  a  whole 
sacrifice,  and  therefore  the  skin  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  least 
significant  part  in  it.  It  was  to  fall  to  the  share  of  the  priest,  in 
order  that  not  the  least  portion  of  the  sacrifice  might  be  with- 
drawn from  the  Lord,  but  only  that  to  which  no  sacred  mean- 
ing was  attached. 

Ver.  10.  As  another. — This  offering  is  to  be  equally  divided 
among  all.  That  which  is  mentioned  in  ver.  9  is  immediately 
to  be  partaken  of,  and  might  spoil  by  being  kept  longer ;  the  dry 
part,  or  the  meat,  which  is  merely  rolled  in  oil,  not  so.  But 
nothing  which  has  in  any  way  undergone  fermentation  or  corrup- 
tion may  be  eaten  as  a  sacrificial  meal. 

Ver.  12.  Thanksgiving. — Here  the  different  kinds  of  thank- 
offering  are  enumerated — praise-oflFering,  vow-offering,  free-will 
offering.     The  name  of  the  first  shows  how  unsuitable  the  term 


LEVITICUS  VII.  13-19.  381 

"  thank-offering  "  is  for  tlie  whole  kind,  as  these  praise-offerino;s 
were  peculiarly,  exclusively  thank-offerings,  gifts  in  thankful- 
ness for  a  Divine  favour. 

Ver.  13.  Peace-offerings;  i.e.,  in  addition  to  the  slain  praise- 
(peace-)  offerings.  A  particularly  rich  meat-offering  was  to  be 
brought  as  an  additional  gift  to  the  thank,  and  especially  to  the 
praise-offering  (a  rich  vow  and  offering  of  acceptable  works), 
because  in  this  kind  of  sacrifice  the  meal  was  a  prominent  part. 
It  is  remarkable  that  here  leavened  bread  is  offered,  while  the 
prohibition  of  all  leaven  in  the  sacrifices  (Exod.  xxiii.  18,  ch. 
xxxiv.  25)  appears  to  be  general.  But  herein  exactly  is  shown 
the  significant  peculiarity  of  this  kind  of  offering.  Even  here, 
indeed,  the  leavened  bread  might  not  be  burnt  on  the  altar,  and 
so  that  early  general  prohibition  (ch.  ii.  11)  is  expressly  ex- 
plained ;  but  as  first-fruits  (ch.  ii.  12),  leavened  bread  might 
be  offered.  But  in  this  sacrifice  the  repast  was  to  be  the  most 
prominent  feature,  as  the  most  significant  sacred  custom ;  and 
for  this  purpose  the  leavened  bread  was  more  suitable  than  the 
unleavened.  It  was  in  every  respect  to  be  partaken  of  like  an 
ordinary  meal. 

Ver.  18.  His  iniquity. — It  is  to  be  inferred  from  this,  that  of 
the  three  kinds  of  thank-offering  the  praise-offerings  were  the 
most  holy.  These  were  the  offerings  literally  "  of  confession  " 
— the  acknowledgment  of  the  reception  of  an  undeserved  benefit 
from  God.  A  vow-offering,  to  which  also  the  vow  of  the  Naza- 
rites  belonged  (Num.  vi.  14),  was  brought  at  the  expiration  of 
the  time  to  which  it  referred.  A  free-will  offering  appears  to 
have  had  more  the  character  of  a  prayer-offering.  The  reason 
why  the  flesh  might  not  be  kept  longer  was  plainly  the  putre- 
faction, which  in  hot  countries  sets  in  sooner  than  with  us,  and 
which  makes  the  flesh  unfit  for  holy  uses.  In  the  most  holy 
kind  of  the  three  even  the  least  taint  was  to  be  avoided ;  in  the 
others  the  greater  degree.  The  greater  holiness  of  the  praise- 
offering  evidently  consists  in  this,  that  it  was  more  independent 
of  the  will  of  the  individual — that  it  referred  to  an  act  on  God's 
part  which  man  merely  acknowledged. 

Ver.  19.  Eat  thereof. — The  last  part  of  the  sentence  is  literally, 
"  And  (concerning)  the  flesh  every  clean  person  can  eat  (sacri- 
ficed) flesh."     After  it  has  been  determined  that  such  flesh  of 
the  sacrifice  as  has  touched  anything  unclean  shall  be  burnt,  it 


382  LEVITICUS  VII.  23-34. 

is  added,  that  besides  this  there  is  no  bar  to  the  eating  of  the 
flesh  of  the  thank-offerings.  Every  one  who  has  not  made  him- 
self unclean  may  eat  of  it. 

Ver.  23.  Cut  off. — The  reason  is  likewise  added.  All  fat  be- 
longs to  the  Lord ;  the  fat,  therefore,  of  the  beasts  which  are  not 
sacrificed,  or  which  may  not  be  sacrificed,  must  not  be  eaten, 
lest  the  people  should  desire  that  which  it  is  unlawful  to  touch, 
and  lest  an  opportunity  should  be  given  to  transgress  this  holy 
commandment. 

Ver.  27.  Eatetli. — The  reason  is  the  same  as  in  the  former 
prohibition,  and  is  further  explained,  ch.  xvii.  10,  etc. 

Ver.  30.  His  oion  hands. — There  is  a  particular  emphasis  laid 
on  the  fact,  that  the  same  person  who  laid  his  hands  on  the  vic- 
tim must  bring  the  gift  to  the  priest,  because  in  this  sacrifice  the 
act  of  bringing  it  was  particularly  significant. 

Ver.  34.  Wave-hreast. — The  breast  and  the  shoulder  were  the 
best  part  of  the  victim,  which  therefore  the  priest  received.  They 
are  called  "wave-breast"  and  "heave-shoulder"  on  account  of  the 
ceremony  of  waving  and  heaving  which  took  place  with  them. 
"Waving"  means  to  move  the  pieces  of  the  victim  in  an  horizontal, 
"heaving,"  in  a  perpendicular  direction.  The  first  was,  according 
to  some,  only  in  front  and  back  again  ;  but  according  to  others 
(and  this  is  the  more  probable  opinion),  also  to  the  right  and 
left.  The  priest  laid  the  pieces  of  the  sacrifice  on  the  hands  of 
the  sacrificer,  and  his  own  under  them,  and  so  made  these 
movements.  The  "waving"  took  place  with  the  breast,  and  the 
"heaving"  with  the  shoulder-piece.  Similar  to  this  movement 
with  the  pieces  of  the  sacrifice  was  the  ceremony  which,  accord- 
ing to  Num.  viii.  11,  etc.,  was  performed  in  the  consecration  of 
the  Levites  with  respect  to  themselves,  as  they  were  moved  or 
waved  to  and  fro.  To  this  a  custom  refers  which  occurs  among 
the  Jews  during  the  end  of  prayer  on  their  departure  from  the 
synagogue ;  namely,  that  they  take  a  couple  of  steps  forwards, 
and  to  the  right  and  left.  The  "  waving  "  betokened  the  world 
which  is  the  Lord's-^the  "  heaving,"  Himself  who  dwelleth  on 
high.  The  pieces  were  thus  consecrated  to  the  High  and  Lofty 
One  to  whom  belong  the  ends  of  the  world.  In  like  manner, 
the  Jews  believe  that,  by  this  movement  in  prayer,  the  benefit  of 
it  is  bestowed  on  the  whole  world.  The  first-fruits  of  His 
people,  the  first  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  the  best  pieces  of 


LEVITICUS  VII.  35,  38  ;   VIII.  4-15.  383 

the  thank-oiFering,  were  therefore  dedicated  to  tlie  Lord  of  the 
worhl,  ill  order  thereby  to  hallow  the  whole  to  Him  :  in  these 
sacrifices  to  consecrate  more  especially  the  whole  sacrificial  meal 
which  followed  thereupon. 

Ver.  35.  Anointing. — Heb.,  "  the  appropriated  portion ; "  be- 
cause "  to  anoint "  is  to  stroke  with  the  hand  over  something, 
the  same  word  means  "  to  apportion." 

Ver.  38.  Wilderness  of  Sinai. — With  these  words  is  therefore 
both  concluded  the  part  of  the  commandments  which  relate  to 
the  priests'  share  in  the  sacrifices,  and  that  which  relates  to  the 
sacrifices  themselves. 


CHAPTER  Vin. 

Ver.  4.  Of  the  congregation. — The  whole  congregation  in  the 
literal  sense  could  not  possibly  be  assembled  before  the  door  of 
the  tabernacle  in  the  fore-court.  But  we  find  also  expressly 
mentioned,  Num.  i.  16,  ch.  xvi.  2,  "the  renowned  of  the  congrega- 
tion," who  at  the  same  time  are  called  "  princes  (heads)  of  the 
congregation."  From  the  first  place  we  see  that  they  were  heads 
of  families.  These  appeared,  therefore,  in  the  name  of  the 
different  families  of  the  congregation,  and  conveyed  to  them 
what  was  told  themselves  in  personal  conference  with  Moses. 
There  is  no  trace  whatever  of  freely  chosen  deputies. 

Ver.  9.   Commanded  Moses. — Upon  all  this  see  Exod.  xxviii. 

Ver.  15.  Reconciliation  iqjon  it. — At  the  sin-offering  of  the 
high  priest,  which  is  described  ch.  iv.  1,  etc.,  other  customs  are 
commanded.  The  high  priest  carries  the  blood  into  the  holy 
place,  sprinkles  it  towards  the  veil,  and  besmears  with  it  the 
horns  of  the  altar  of  incense  ;  while  here  all  takes  place  at  the 
altar  of  burnt-sacrifice  before  the  tabernacle.  The  reason  is  the 
following — that  this,  the  consecration-sacrifice,  is  generally  for 
the  sins  of  the  high  priest  to  be  consecrated :  here  he  still  stands 
without,  together  with  the  people,  before  the  tabernacle,  and 
only  later  (ver.  33)  is  it  entrusted  to  him.  All  the  sins  of  the 
high  priest  before  his  entrance  on  his  office  are  not  so  great  as 
those  which  follow  after  it,  and  therefore  for  these  latter  there 


384  LEVITICUS  VIII.  34,  36  ;    IX. 

is  need  of  a  greater  atonement.  The  reconciliation  of  the  altar, 
as  if  all  the  sacred  vessels  had  the  significance  that  the  sins 
wherewith  the  people  from  whose  hands  they  have  come  have 
defiled  them,  were  taken  away  from  them. 

Ver.  34.  Atonement  for  you. — They  daily  offered  the  full — 
i.e.y  the  consecration-sacrifice.  Hence  it  is  evident  that  by  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle  can  here  be  meant  not  the  door  of  the 
holy  place,  but  the  gate  of  the  fore-court,  as  the  sacrifices  were 
made  in  the  fore-court.  In  the  tabernacle  itself  they  might  not 
even  sit,  far  less  could  they  sleep  there.  The  seven  days  are 
either  the  number  of  the  covenant  generally,  or  perhaps  they  are 
intended  yet  more  distinctly  to  bring  to  remembrance  the  seven 
days  of  creation,  so  that  the  priests  therein  were  consecrated  to 
the  service  of  the  Creator  of  the  world. 

Ver.  36.  Hand  of  Moses. — Cf.  Exod.  xxx. 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

The  custom  of  sacrifice  had  arisen  in  the  earliest  times  out  of 
the  immediate  childlike  intercourse  of  man  with  God,  so  that 
there  needed  no  express  establishment  of  it  on  God's  part ;  but  at 
the  beginning  the  essential  point  was,  that  the  Lord  should  ex- 
press by  a  significant  act  His  acceptance  of  the  sacrifice,  as  was 
the  case  in  respect  to  Abel,  Gen.  iv.  4.  But  now,  when  a  new 
period  in  the  service  of  sacrifice  began,  when  for  the  first  time 
sacrifice  was  regulated  even  in  its  minutest  particular  by  a  Di- 
vine messenger,  this  centre  of  all  worship  of  God  required  a 
solemn  attestation.  The  fire,  which  henceforth  was  never  to  go 
out  on  the  great  altar  of  burnt-sacrifice,  was  kindled  by  a  stroke 
of  lightning,  and  burnt  as  a  holy  Divine  fire  on  it  for  ever,  in 
order  to  do  away  with  the  emblems  of  the  individual,  God- 
estranged  life,  and  to  consecrate  His  people  as  well-pleasing  to  the 
Lord. — Of  the  genuine  coin,  the  Divine  impress  of  which  is  cer- 
tified by  this  history  to  every  one  who  enters  deeply  into  it,  many 
false  imitations  have  existed  among  the  heathen.  The  frequent 
occurrence  of  narratives  of  fire  fallen  from  heaven  shows  the  ne- 


LEVITICUS  IX.  4-23.  385 

CGSsity  existing  in  human  nature  which  this  event  wns  intended 
to  satisfy ;  e.g.,  the  fable  that  on  some  altars  the  sacrifice  was 
never  set  fire  to,  but  that  it  w^as  consumed  by  means  of  fire  called 
down  from  heaven. 

Ver.  4.  Appear  unto  you. — All  kinds  of  sacrifices  were,  on 
this  solemn  occasion,  made  together.  First  comes  the  sin-offer- 
ing, which  removes  all  hindrances  to  access  to  the  Lord  (the 
trespass-offering  is  comprised  in  this,  see  ch.  v.,  introd.)  ;  then 
follows  the  burnt-offering,  the  expression  of  entire  surrender 
of  all  to  the  Lord ;  upon  this  the  thank-offering,  which  does  not 
here  refer  so  much  to  benefits  received,  but  rather,  as  elsewhere 
is  the  case  at  the  ceremonies  of  consecration  (Exod.  xxiv.  5 ;  2 
Sam.  vi.  18 ;  1  Kings  viii.  63  ;  1  Mace.  iv.  56),  to  those  which 
are  yet  to  be  sought  and  expected  from  God  ;  and  as  additional 
offerings  to  the  two  last,  comes  in  the  meat-offering,  the  offering  of 
a  life  well-pleasing  to  God.  All  these  offerings  are  to  be  made 
"because  the  Lord  will  appear" — they  are  to  be  offered,  as  it 
were,  for  dedication  and  confirmation. 

Ver.  7.  Commanded. — It  is  to  be  observed  that  in  the  first 
sin-offering  the  high  priest  is  to  reconcile  both  himself  and  the 
people ;  afterwards,  in  the  second,  to  offer  for  the  people  more 
particularly.  This  results  from  the  relation  alluded  to  before, 
ch.  iv.  3,  that  by  the  sin  of  the  high  priest  guilt  passed  on  the 
whole  people,  and  thereby  its  relation  to  God  was  interrupted. 
The  high  priest,  therefore,  first  atones  for  his  own  sin,  and  for 
the  guilt  which,  by  means  of  it,  has  overtaken  the  people;  then, 
yet  over  and  above  this,  he  makes  atonement  for  the  particular 
sin  of  the  people. 

Ver.  9.  Bottom  of  the  altar. — The  atonement  takes  place  here 
at  tlie  altar  of  burnt-sacrifice  (as  ch.  viii.  15),  not  at  the  altar  of 
incense,  and  for  the  same  reason  as  there. 

Ver.  22.  Blessed  them. — In  blessing,  the  hands  were  properly 
laid  on  the  head,  Gen.  xlviii.  14,  as  a  sign  of  the  transferring  of 
something.  Where  this  was  impossible,  as  here,  then  the  lifting 
up  of  the  hands  expressed  the  same  thing,  just  as  the  leading 
about  of  the  Levites  stood  in  the  place  of  the  waving,  ch.  vii.  34, 
note. 

Came  doum  from  the  altar. 

Ver.  23.  Tabernacle. — As  all  kinds  of  sacrifices  were  offered 
before  the  tabernacle,  it  seems  they  made  here  the  first  burnt 

2  B 


386  LEVITICUS  IX.  24  ;   X. 

sacrifice,  which,  under  these  circumstances,  was  to  carry  up 
especially  prayer  to  the  Lord  for  the  appearing  of  His  glory. 

Appeared. — It  is  uncertain  whether  this  glory  is  to  be  ima- 
gined as  a  particular  appearance — a  descent  of  the  cloudy  pillar 
on  the  tabernacle — a  bright  effulgence  from  the  same  or  some- 
thing like  it,  or  whether  it  consisted  merely  in  the  simultaneous 
descent  of  the  fire. 

Ver.  24.  And  the  fat. — It  is  literally,  "  The  fire  went  forth 
from  before  the  countenance  of  the  Lord."  The  same  took 
place  at  the  consecration  of  the  altar  of  Solomon's  temple,  2 
Chron.  vii.  1.  According  to  Jewish  tradition,  this  fire  continued 
up  to  the  reign  of  Solomon,  and  that  which  was  then  kindled,  to 
the  days  of  King  Manasseh,  2  Chron.  xxxiii. ;  from  which  time 
to  this  it  has  disappeared  from  among  the  people,  as  have  all 
similar  visible  pledges  of  the  Divine  presence :  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  which  appeared  in  the  cloud,  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  the 
tables  of  the  law,  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 

On  their  faces. — It  was  not  so  much  the  confirmation  of  the 
priesthood  of  Aaron,  as  of  the  sacrifices,  which  took  place  in  the 
descent  of  the  fire.  The  people  rejoiced  in  the  certainty  that 
they,  by  means  of  the  sacrifices,  had  now  a  continual  access  to 
God. 


CHAPTER  X, 

The  whole  service  of  sacrifices  had  just  been  hallowed  bv 
means  of  an  act  on  God's  part.  From  the  fickle  and  changeable 
character  of  the  people,  it  still  could  not  but  be  that  the  impres- 
sion made  by  the  mighty  miracle  would  soon  be  effaced  from  their 
minds.  For  this  reason  did  the  Lord  desire  to  show  His  pre- 
sence in  His  sacred  things,  to  be  both  the  cause  of  great  blessing 
and  also  of  terrible  punishment.  It  was  of  great  importance 
that  the  fire  which  consumed  the  sacrifice  was  not  of  man's 
creating,  but  of  God's  sending — not  merely  as  a  solemn  recogni- 
tion on  the  Lord's  part,  but  also  on  account  of  the  whole  signi- 
ficance of  the  sacrifice.  The  act  of  surrender  to  God  which  was 
figured  by  the  sacrifice,  and  fulfilled  in  the  believers,  was  intended 


LEVITICUS  X.  1-3.  387 

to  be  the  work  of  God  through  man,  not  of  man  alone.  This 
pledge  of  Divine  favour  in  the  sacrifice  was  as  much  destroyed 
by  the  strange  fire  as  in  the  case  of  the  similar  interference  with 
the  emblem,  Exod.  xx.  25,  note.  So  far  is  the  symbolical  mean- 
ing of  this  history  very  deep  and  comprehensive.  Every  gift  to 
God,  every  sacrifice  for  Him,  every  act  of  zeal  in  His  service, 
however  it  might  otherwise  outwardly  be  right,  is  displeasing  to 
the  Lord  so  soon  as  the  fire  of  self-denial  ceases  to  originate 
fi'ora  the  Holy  Spirit :  1  Cor.  xiii.  3,  note ;  St  John  xiii.  38. 

Ver.  1.  Commanded  them  not. — A  prohibition  to  use  "strange 
fire  "  (i.e.,  that  which  was  not  taken  from  the  altar)  has  not  yet 
been  mentioned;  it  has  therefore  been  regarded  as  included  in 
the  command,  ch.  vi.  12.  It  will  be  expressly  prescribed  in  a 
later  place  (ch.  xvi.  12),  concerning  the  act  of  burning  incense 
on  the  great  day  of  atonement. — The  Angel  in  the  vision  of  St 
John,  therefore,  takes  fire  from  the  altar  for  burning  incense 
(Rev.  viii.  5).  We  may  conclude  from  the  context  and  the 
meaning  of  the  history,  that  they  purposed  in  the  offering  of 
strange  fire  a  particular  service  before  God,  wishing  to  add 
something  of  their  own  over  and  above  what  was  present  there. 
This  self-chosen  service  to  God  must  on  this  occasion,  when  the 
fire  fallen  from  heaven  was  of  so  great  significance,  be  most 
severely  punished  as  an  act  of  rebellion  against  the  Lord. 

Ver.  2.  Died  before  the  Lord. — It  is  not  without  significance 
that  the  very  fire  at  whose  appearing  the  people  had  before  re- 
joiced, was  fatal  to  them,  as  they  had  despised  it.  The  same 
G  ospel  is  to  one  a  savour  of  life,  to  others  a  savour  of  death  : 
2  Cor.  ii.  IG.  It  ''■  devoured,"  i.e.,  it  killed  them;  since,  ac- 
coi'ding  to  ver.  5,  their  clothes  were  not  singed.  They  died 
"  before  the  Lord" — before  the  tent  of  His  dwelling,  in  which 
He  had  shown  Himself  as  present  by  means  of  the  fire  :  as  in 
the  case  of  Uzzah  (1  Chron.  xiii.  10,  cf.  2  Sam.  vi.  7).  The 
history  reminds  us  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  Acts  v. 

Ver.  3.  Glorified. — The  Lord  "  is  sanctified"  by  showing 
mercy  on  those  who  are  His,  Ezek.  xx.  41 ;  and  likewise  by 
punishing  those  who  despise  Him,  Ezek.  xxxviii.  16.  In  both 
cases  He  shows  and  reveals  Himself  as  the  Holy  One  :  cf.  St 
Matt.  vi.  9,  note. — The  Lord  has  "  said"  this  actually,  Exod. 
xix.  22,  ch.  xxix.  34  ;  and  it  is  also  implied  in  the  words  so 
often  appended  to  the  commandments  relating  to  tlie  priests, 


388  LEVITICUS  X.  4-9. 

"  that  they   die  not :"    Exod.   xxviii.   35,    ch.    xxx.    21 ;    Lev. 
viii.  35. 

Held  his  2^ sac e. — As  fear  came  on  all  the  people  :  Acts  v.  11. 
Here  reference  is  particularly  made  to  the  circumstance,  that  it 
was  the  custom  to  lament  the  dead  with  loud  cries. 

Ver.  4.  Camp. — They  are  called  "  brethren,"  as  being  near 
relations,  as  Gen.  xiii.  8.  Their  nearest  relatives,  their  father  and 
brothers,  might  not  touch  them,  lest  by  being  defiled  they 
should  interrupt  the  service  of  the  priesthood  ;  as  afterwards  this 
is  expressly  commanded,  ch.  xxi.  1. — To  the  commandment  for 
the  especial  occasion  is  now  a  general  prohibition  appended. 
Communion  with  God,  the  Holy  One,  is  simply  life.  Death  has 
come  into  the  world  by  sin  :  therefore,  God's  representatives, 
who  are  to  bear  the  sin  of  the  people,  have  no  communion  with 
death.  The  life  from  God  effaces  from  their  minds  the  thought 
of  the  death  even  of  their  nearest  kinsmen.  Hence  is  explained 
Christ's  word,  St  Matt.  viii.  22. 

Ver.  6.  Uncover  not. — To  uncover  the  head  was  a  mark  of 
grief,  as  ch.  xiii.  45.  Nothing  therefore  can  here  be  meant  about 
shaving  the  hair,  or,  as  others  translate,  "  letting  it  grow," 
because  the  priests  wore  turbans  which  covered  the  hair.  These, 
it  was  commanded  them,  they  should  not  remove  on  account  of 
their  sorrow. 

Rend  your  clothes. — Another  mark  of  grief — ch.  xiii.  45  and 
ch.  xxi.  10 — which  often  occurs  ;  e.g.,  Gen.  xxxvii.  34  ;  2  Sam. 
xiii.  31 ;  St  Matt.  xxvi.  65. 

Ver.  7.  Anointing  oil. — The  Spirit  of  life,  which  overcomes 
all  death,  is  given  you.  The  Spirit,  whose  emblem  is  the 
anointing  oil,  is  also  called  particularly  a  Spirit  of  joy;  the 
anointing  oil,  therefore,  the  oil  of  gladness,  Ps.  xlv.  8.  After- 
wards this  general  commandment  is  made  more  stringent — 
that  the  high  priest  was  allowed  to  mourn  no  one  :  the  other 
priests,  their  nearest  kinsfolks  :  ch.  xxi.  1-4,  11. 

Ver.  9.  Strong  drink. — Heb.,  "  Schekar."  So  was  every  in- 
toxicating drink  called,  made  from  barley,  honey,  and  dates. 
It  is  remarkable  that  this  prohibition  of  drinking  wine  follows 
directly  on  the  prohibition  to  mourn.  By  this  connection  is 
taught,  that  as  no  external  event  was  to  depress  with  gi'ief  the 
priest,  so  ought  he  to  aj^ply  no  artificial  means  to  his  senses  to 
promote  exhilaration :  his  whole  thoughts  and  attention  are  to 


LEVITICUS  X.  11-20.  389 

be  directed  to  the  sacred  offices  which  are  commanded  him. 
We  are  reminded  of  the  antithesis,  Eph.  v.  18. 

Ver.  11.  Moses. — There  was  in  the  O.  T.  no  distinct  office 
of  teaching.  At  this  time,  when  God  instructed  by  deeds  and 
symbolical  acts,  the  teaching  of  the  priests  consisted  in  the  occa- 
sional description  and  explanation  of  the  necessary  holy  offices. 
In  order  that  they  might  have  ability  to  do  this,  they  should 
themselves  above  all,  in  the  performance  of  the  sacred  rites,  be 
possessed  of  the  most  sound  understanding  of  what  they  were 
doing. 

Ver.  15.  Hath  commanded. — All  this  had  ISIoses  already  said, 
ch.  ii.  3,  10,  ch.  vii.  34,  and  he  need  hardly  now  have  repeated 
it ;  but  he  does  so  in  order  to  prepare  for  the  history  which 
follows. 

Ver.  18.  Holy  place. — In  the  fore-court  of  the  tabernacle,  ch. 
vi.  26. 

/  commanded. — It  is  not  told  us  more  distinctly  what  kind  of 
sin-offering  this  was.  The  sacrifice  of  consecration  Avas,  accord- 
ing to  ch.  ix.  8,  a  calf — the  flesh  and  skin  of  it  had  been  already 
burnt.  According  to  ch.  iv.  23,  a  goat  was  brought  for  a 
prince  as  sin-offering.  It  is  therefore  to  be  supposed  tliat,  for 
a  cause  not  further  given,  some  such  was  offered  on  the  same 
day  on  which  Aaron's  sons  had  been  killed  on  account  of  their 
transgression. 

Ver.  19.  Sifjitt  of  the  Lord. — Moses  made,  perhaps,  out  of 
consideration  towards  Aaron,  his  sons  responsible  for  the  mis- 
take. By  eating  of  the  sacrifice,  they  expiated,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  sin  of  the  sacrificcr ;  on  the  other  hand,  they  appeared 
therein  as  the  guests  of  the  Lord.  This  participation  also  (as 
yet  more  in  the  thank-offering,  the  more  general  sacrificial  meal) 
was  an  expression  of  joy  after  the  completion  of  the  atonement. 
In  the  midst  of  such  terrible  grief,  Aaron  could  not  resolve  to 
perform  this  act.  Although,  therefore,  Aaron  was  here  guilty 
of  some  irregularity,  yet  he  hopes  that  the  spirit  of  the  law  will 
relieve  him  from  a  fulfilment  of  the  letter. 

Ver.  20.  Content. — Moses  affords  him  the  indulgence  for  which 
he  bee's.  It  satisfies  him  that  Aaron  has  recoonised  the  rule, 
and  the  more  so,  inasmuch  as  he  himself  characterises  what  he 
has  done  as  an  exception. 


390  LEVITICUS  XI. 


CHAPTER  XL 

There  now  follows  a  long  list  of  regulations  with  respect  to 
pollution.  One  kind  of  this  pollution  was  the  result  of  man's 
wilfulness,  viz.,  the  eating  of  unclean  food.  The  other  kinds 
were  natural  and  bodily  conditions.  These  concern  the  relations 
of  the  sexes,  child-bearing,  certain  inevitable  fatal  sicknesses,  and 
death.  The  object  of  the  law,  in  all  these  cases,  is  continually  to 
remind  the  people  of  God  of  sin,  and  of  their  own  call  to  holi- 
ness. Sin  has  its  seat  in  sensuality  ;  it  has  made  man  carnal 
and  worldly,  since  itself  proceeded  from  the  spirit  of  self-exalta- 
tion (Gen.  iii.  4-7,  note).  Although  now  generation,  birth, 
nourishment,  sickness,  and  death,  are  all  God's  ordinances,  and 
therefore  good,  still  there  clings  to  them,  partly,  sinful  lust, 
partly  they  stand  in  distinct  relation  to  it  as  its  punishment 
(thou  shalt  bring  forth  with  sorrow.  Gen.  iii.  16;  with  sorrow 
shalt  thou  eat  until  thou  return  again  to  the  earth,  ver.  18,  19). 
For  this  reason,  during  the  time  of  nonage,  laws  must  be  of  the 
greatest  consequence,  which  both  taught  men  to  regard  these 
conditions  with  a  holy  awe,  and  made  thera  see  in  bodily  un- 
cleanness  emblems  of  spiritual  defilement,  in  bodily  purification 
the  image  of  cleanness  of  heart. 

The  prohibitions  respecting  food  follow  immediately  on  the 
laws  about  sacrifice,  because  a  part  of  the  sacrifice  was  eaten, 
and  this  sacred  eating  was  a  channel  of  direct  communion  with 
God.  From  this  eating  of  the  sacrifices,  the  law  then  passes  on 
to  all  kinds  of  eating  in  general.  The  main  object  of  the  pro- 
hibitions respecting  food  was  by  no  means  to  separate  Israel 
from  other  people ;  since,  long  before  the  election  of  any  family 
or  individual,  we  find  a  distinction  of  clean  and  unclean  animals 
(cf.  Gen.  vii.  3,  note).  Rather,  all  heathen  nations  were  ac- 
quainted with  such  distinctions,  in  which  they  expressed  the 
fundamental  ideas  of  their  religion.  In  the  heathen  Nature- 
worship  (especially  among  the  Egyptians),  the  purity  and 
sanctity  of  the  animals  had  reference  to  the  relation  in  which 
they  were  supposed  to  stand  to  a  distinct  deity,  of  which  they 
were  esteemed  to  be  the  revelation  :  their  uncleanness,  to  tlie  re- 


LEVITICUS  XI.  3-G.  391 

latiou  in  which  they  stood  to  the  disturbing  kingdom  of  the 
evil  spirit.  They  were  either  too  holy  to  be  eaten,  or  too  un- 
clean. The  opposition  of  good  and  evil  lay  altogether  in  the 
province  of  nature.  All  was  good  which  furthered  and  main- 
tained the  order  of  the  Avorld — all  bad  which  disturbed  it.  In 
the  Divine  law,  on  the  contrary,  "  filthiness"  or  "  abomination" 
was  the  expression  of  an  inward,  moral  loathing  :  and  if  no- 
where any  being  has  been  given  up  to  be  the  work  of  an  evil 
spirit,  still  many  animals  have  been  unmistakeably  the  bearers 
of  human  passions,  and  as  such  are  an  object  of  dislike  to  man 
engaged  in  the  work  of  sanctification.  God  Himself  has,  by  His 
curse,  given  the  most  loathsome  form  to  the  serpent,  and  put 
enmity  between  his  seed  and  that  of  man  (Gen.  iii.  15).  Among 
all  prohibited  animals,  the  swine  is  the  one  most  repulsive  to  the 
Israelites.  This  and  others  have  been  an  abomination  to  them 
on  account  of  their  feeding  on  mire  ;  others,  on  account  of  their 
eating  blood ;  and  others  still,  by  reason  of  a  certain  feeling 
which  does  not  belong  to  us,  but  was  peculiar  to  the  country 
and  the  views  ^of  the  age.  While,  therefore,  they  abhorred  the 
emblems  of  sin,  and  thereby  endeavoured  to  attain  outward 
purity,  they  were  to  learn  to  accustom  themselves  to  inward 
holiness,  to  which  this  outward  purity  was  designed  to  lead 
them. 

Ver.  3.  Cheicetli  the  cud. — Lit.,  "  bringeth  up  the  fetching  up," 
brings  up  its  food  again.  It  is  difficult  to  find  in  these  marks 
any  symbolical  meaning :  they  occur  in  the  domestic  animals 
which  offer  the  emblem  of  purity,  and  are  easily  recognisable. 

Divideth  not. — Has  therefore  one  of  the  marks  by  which  the 
clean  and  unclean  are  distinguished. 

Ver.  4.  Camel ;  namely,  not  entirely.  His  hoof  is  divided  in 
front,  but  hangs  together  behind  by  a  skin. 

Ver.  5.  Coney. — Heb.,  "  Schaphan  ; "  probably  the  lemming 
(mountain-mouse),  an  animal  with  very  long,  three-toed  hind- 
feet,  which  occurs  also  Ps.  civ.  18,  Prov.  xxx.  26,  as  inhabiting 
the  clefts  of  rocks. 

Ver.  G.  Hare. — It  has  a  double,  while  other  animals  have  a 
qiiadruplo,  stomach.  Even  among  the  physicians  of  antiquity, 
we  find  the  notion  that  the  flesh  of  the  hare  produced  thick, 
heavy  blood.  Perhaps  also  its  unusual  philogenitivencss  caused 
this  animal  to  be  regarded  as  unclean. 


392  LEVITICUS  XI.  7-22. 

Ver.  7.  Sivine. — Swine's  flesh  produced  and  fomented  leprosy, 
according  to  the  view  of  heathen  writers,  and  might  even  on 
that  account  become  the  object  of  abhorrence.  But  certainly  it 
was  more  especially  so,  as  an  emblem  of  impurity  and  sensuality 
(it  was  sacred  to  Venus).  Of  all  prohibited  animals,  this  was  at 
all  times  the  most  detested  by  the  Israelites.  Even  among  neigh- 
bouring heathen  nations  it  was  esteemed  unclean.  Still  it  was 
sacrificed  to  certain  deities,  as,  indeed,  was  very  suitable  in 
Nature-worship.  The  swine-flesh  eating  ministers  of  idols  are 
mentioned  at  a  later  period  as  the  objects  of  particular  detesta- 
tion :  Isa.  Ixv.  4,  ch.  Ixvi.  17. 

Yer.  9.  Fiiis  and  scales. — Here  the  idea  appears  to  be,  that 
fish  with  scales  and  fins  seem  the  most  natural  proper  water 
creatures,  while  the  rest  live  in  the  depths,  holes,  and  bottoms  of 
rivers  and  of  the  sea ;  and  in  order  to  distinguish  between  the 
clean  and  the  unclean,  it  was  necessary  to  lay  down  some  simple 
rule. 

Ver.  13.  Fowls. — All  winged  animals  are  called  "  fowds  ;" 
therefore,  as  will  be  seen  in  what  follows,  also  four-footed  crea- 
tures and  insects. 

Ver.  14.  His  kind ;  i.  e.,  generally  all  birds  of  prey.  The 
particular  names  are  differently  translated ;  some  are  difficult  to 
decide  on. 

Ver.  16.  Night-hawk. — According  to  others,  the  male  and 
female  ostrich. 

Ver.  18.  Pelican. — The  Greek  translation,  written  in  Egypt, 
has  the  « Ibis." 

Gier-eagle. — Here  stand  in  the  Hebrew  three  birds.  The  first 
is  by  some  supposed  to  be  the  swan, — by  others,  a  kind  of  falcon 
(in  a  later  place,  ver.  30,  the  same  name  stands  for  an  ani- 
mal resembling  the  locust  or  lizard)  ;  the  second,  "  Kaath,"  is 
supposed  to  be  a  pelican ;  the  third,  "  Eacham,"  a  kind  of 
hawk. 

Ver.  20.  Creep. — By  this  expression,  "which  creep"  (Scherez), 
are  designated  all  animals  which  crawl  upon  the  earth,  especially 
insects.  ' 

Ver.  22.  Grasshopper. — These  are  all  different  kinds  of  lo- 
custs, a  common  food  of  the  poor  in  the  East :  cf.  St  Matt.  iii. 
4.  These  were  the  only  insects  allowed  to  be  eaten,  probably 
because  they  were  known  to  feed  on  fruits,  leaves,  etc. 


LEVITICUS  XI.  24-40.  393 

Ver.  24.  Until  the  even. — This  is  the  less  degree  of  pollution 
which  is  frequently  mentioned.  The  evening  began  a  new  day. 
The  uncleanness  therefore  continued  during  the  whole  day  on 
which  it  had  occurred. 

Ver.  27.  Paws. — Properly  "hands;"  the  animals  which  have 
not  hoofs,  but  paws,  as  those  of  the  feline  kind,  bears,  etc. 

Ver.  29.  Creep. — Four-footed  animals,  indeed,  but  with  very- 
short  feet.  The  reason  of  the  aversion  from  these  lies  in  their 
short  feet  and  creeping  motion  close  to  the  earth,  by  means  of 
which  they  come  in  contact  with  everything  that  is  in  the  dust 
and  mud.     Hence  the  curse  upon  the  serpent,  Gen.  iii.  14. 

Ver.  29.  Weasel. — More  correctly  speaking  these  three  ani- 
mals are  the  mole,  the  mouse,  and  the  land-crocodile  (called 
scincus).  The  next  five  are  most  probably  species  of  lizards  ; 
the  last,  the  chameleon. 

Ver.  32.  Cleansed. — The  person  was  unclean  by  contact  with 
tliese  clothes  or  this  vessel,  and  could  do  nothing  therein  or 
therewith.  In  order  to  save  himself  this,  these  things  were  to 
be  avoided. 

Ver.  3G.  Tlieir  carcase. — "Their"  carcase;  i.e.,  that  of  the 
wells,  cisterns,  etc., — the  beast  which  has  fallen  into  them.  In  a 
land  where  water  was  so  scarce,  and  cisterns  are  the  only  means 
of  saving  it,  it  would  have  been  a  great  grievance  to  have  de- 
clared the  whole  water  unclean.  Here,  then,  is  allowed  a  simi- 
lar exception  of  necessity  fi'om  the  ritual  law  with  that  in  the 
case  of  the  Sabbath,  and  reminds  us  of  Christ's  saying,  that 
these  commandments  were  for  men,  and  not  men  for  these  com- 
mandments. 

Ver.  37.  To  he  sowed ;  because  this  did  not  come  into  imme- 
diate contact  with  man. 

Ver.  38.  Unclean. — When  the  seed  is  not  employed  for  sowing, 
but  used  for  food.  The  reason  of  the  command  is  clear  from  the 
preceding. 

Ver.  39.  Any  beast. — A  clean  beast  which  had  not  been 
killed.  No  animal  that  died  of  itself  might  be  eaten,  because  its 
blood  had  not  been  poured  out :  it  defiled  as  a  human  corpse. 

Ver.  40.  Until  the  even. — Evidently,  he  who  had  done  so  un- 
wittingly ;  since  any  one  who  did  this  knowingly  would,  as 
every  other  transgressor  of  the  law,  be  cut  oft'  from  the  people : 
Num.  XV.  50. 


394  LEVITICUS  XI.  42,  45  ;    XII. 

Ver.  42.  An  abomination. — In  the  Heb.  there  are  three  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  animals  :  those  which  creep  on  their  belly  with- 
out feet,  as  the  serpent :  thereupon  further  it  is  said,  such  as  go 
on  four  feet,  toixether  with  all  which  have  more  feet.  Amona; 
the  first  are  those  four-footed  animals  to  be  understood  wdio  have 
so  short  feet  that  they  touch  the  earth  with  their  belly,  as  those 
mentioned,  ver.  29  ;  among  the  last,  insects  and  worms  of  dif- 
ferent Idnds.  These  words,  therefore,  are  partly  repetition  of 
what  has  been  said,  partly  an  emphatic  adding  of  a  general  law, 
which  formed  the  transition  to  the  yet  more  general  concluding 
words  in  what  follows. 

Ver.  45.  Holy. — This  conclusion  plainly  shows  what  is  the 
particular  meaning  and  object  of  the  prohibitions  respecting 
food.  God  has,  after  man's  fall,  imparted  to  certain  animals 
(which  are  good  in  themselves,  and  even  in  this  their  mark  of 
punishment  are  good)  a  kind  of  stamp  by  which  they  become  em- 
blems of  sin  for  man.  At  a  time  when  the  pure  spiritual  know- 
ledge of  sin  could  not  yet  possibly  be  communicated  to  the 
people  of  God,  it  was  intended  that  they  should  through  these 
emblems  of  sin  be  filled  with  a  loathing  of  sin  itself, — that  the 
people  should  be  awakened  to  the  consciousness  that  no  sinner 
can  stand  before  a  holy  God,  or  hold  communion  Avith  Him. 
As,  therefore,  God  is  holy,  wdio  by  saving  them  from  Egypt  has 
made  Israel  a  people,  and  revealed  Himself  to  them  as  their 
God ;  so  should  there  dwell  in  the  children  of  His  covenant  a 
horror  of  sin  of  every  kind. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Among  the  pollutions  which  do  not  arise  from  what  is  out- 
ward, as  from  food,  but  lie  in  man's  natural  condition,  and 
indeed  in  his  procreation  and  birth,  that  is  first  mentioned  which 
had  the  most  effect  of  all,  and  therefore  needed  the  greatest 
purification.  Sin,  as  well  as  its  punishment,  has  peculiarly  taken 
its  seat  in  the  sexual  relations.  Immediately  after  the  fill,  man- 
kind discover  that  they  are  not  masters  of  their  own  bodies,  and 
clothe  themselves.     And  the  birth  of  children  is  accompanied 


LEVITICUS  XII.  395 

with  the  sharpest  punishment,  of  which  the  woman  is  the  bearer, 
as  she  was  the  first  to  break  the  commandment.  This  is  the 
reason  why  procreation  of  chikh-en,  but  more  particukarlj  the 
act  of  chikl-bearing,  was  a  defilement;  just  as  a  sense  of  shame 
causes  us  to  hide  all  these  connections,  though  we  know  that 
they  are  not  sinful  in  themselves.  The  bodily  impurity  is  an 
image  of  the  moral  defilement,  which  belongs  to  them  more  than 
to  any  otlier  natural  act,  and  makes  it  even  to  the  Christian  an 
object  of  holy  dread,  lest  by  a  too  close  spiritual  contact  he  should 
become  s])iritually  and  not  bodily  defiled.  As  in  the  whole  pro- 
vince of  unclean  meats  (all  of  which  God  has  created)  man  was  not 
internally  defiled,  but  was  continually  reminded  of  the  desecration 
of  the  creation  by  sin,  and  as  the  proliibition  about  unclean  meats 
was  a  call  to  abstain  fi'om  all  communion  witli  sin  and  its  conse- 
quences, in  like  manner  is  to  be  regarded  the  declaration  of  un- 
cleanness  in  these  natural  relations  which  are  not  sinful  in  them- 
selves, but  are  especially  liable  by  misuse  to  become  sinful,  and 
which  carry  with  them  the  stigma  of  sin.  With  no  other  people 
of  antiquity  was  marriage  so  honoured,  founded  as  it  was  on  ex- 
press Divine  institution.  Among  no  other  people  do  we  find, 
through  their  religious  idea  of  death,  so  reverential  a  care  for  the 
rites  of  sepulture.  If,  then,  procreation,  birth,  death,  caused  de- 
filement, wo  perceive  therein,  in  emblem  and  germ,  the  doctrine 
which  was  more  clearly  revealed  in  the  N.  T.,  which  teaches  us 
that  the  flesh  created  by  God,  and  originally  good,  has  nevertheless, 
by  sin  which  dwelt  in  it,  been  made  the  means  of  exciting  sinful 
desire.  The  different  degrees  of  uncleanness  in  these  relations 
are  determined,  not  according  to  the  greater  or  less  defilement  in 
them  by  sin,  but  according  to  the  greater  or  less  prominence  of 
the  carnal  appearances  in  these  relations  :  therefore,  on  this 
account,  the  female  sex  is  that  which  most  needed  purification. 
The  natural  consequences  of  the  sexual  relations  continue  with 
them  the  uncleanness  for  a  longer  time,  and  require  more  puri- 
fying ;  and  in  the  birth  of  a  female  child  the  uncleanness  re- 
mains longer  than  in  that  of  a  male.  It  is  now  evident  also 
why  a  burnt  and  sin-ofiln'ing  must  be  made.  Burnt-offerings, 
which  betokened  the  renewal  of  the  perfect  surrender  to  Qod, 
Avere  offered  on  every  important  event  of  life  (cf,  ch.  iv.),  not 
merely  for  particular  sins,  but  for  transgressions  of  the  ritual 
law  W'hich  were  not  of  the  nature  of  wilful  perverse  acts  of  dis- 


396  LEVITICUS  XII.  2-8. 

obedience,  and  yet  were  not  altogether  involuntary.  This  condi- 
tion was,  therefore,  thus  to  be  viewed,  and  by  the  sin-oflPering 
the  remembrance  of  sin  was  kept  alive. — Even  among  the  hea- 
then, women  after  child-birth  were  excluded  from  certain  reli- 
gious rites ;  but  in  this  exclusion  there  was  no  reference  to  sin,  but 
to  that  finite  existence  into  which  man  entered  by  his  birth,  from 
which  he  passed  by  his  death.  This  entrance  into  and  passage 
out  of  life,  was  a  disturbing  of  the  order  of  nature,  which  for 
the  restoration  of  concord  needed  an  atonement,  and  so  rendered 
persons  unclean  ;  e.g.,  among  the  Greeks,  in  respect  to  the  sacred 
rites  of  Hestia  (Vesta,  ch.  vi.  9,  note),  which  w^as  the  holy  fire, 
the  cause  of  life ;  and  also  of  Artemis  (Diana),  who  was  Nature, 
the  mother  and  nourisher  of  all:  cf.  Acts  xix.  27,  note.  We 
could  scarcely  anywhere  else  meet  with  so  great  an  outward 
similarity,  and  yet  so  decided  an  inward  opposition,  as  we  find  in 
these  laws  about  purification. 

Ver.  2.  Have  conceived. — Heb.,  "brings  forth  seed,"  bears  a 
child.  In  what  follows  a  distinction  is  made  between  the  male 
child  and  the  female.  The  same  expression  occurs  Gen.  i.  11, 
for  the  bringing  forth  seed  in  plants. 

Ver.  4,  Purifying ;  i.e.,  in  the  blood  which  purifies  her ;  not, 
from  which  she  is  to  be  purified.  The  days  of  the  flowing  of  blood 
are  the  days  of  purifying  (cf.  ver.  6),  because  the  blood  takes 
with  it  the  uncleanness :  this  consists  in  the  birth  itself.  The 
thirty-three  days  are  naturally  to  be  added  to  the  seven  (ver.  2), 
as  the  sixty-six  to  the  fourteen,  so  that  the  time  of  separation  on 
the  birth  of  a  male  continued  forty,  on  the  birth  of  a  female 
eighty  days.  It  is  self-evident  that  we  are  not  to  look  for  the 
reason  of  this  in  any  bodily  or  medical  cause. 

Ver.  8.    Young  pigeons. — Cf.  St  Luke,  ii.  24,  note. 


LEVITICUS  XIII.  397 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Of  all  pollutions,  that  of  leprosy  is  mentioned  with  especial 
detail — certainly  not  for  the  purpose  of  givinq;  sanitary  regula- 
tions, but  by  reference  to  this  bodily  evil  to  awaken  an  inwarel 
horror  of  sin,  and  its  kingdom — death.  From  this  way  of  view- 
ins;  it  arise  the  great  care  and  minuteness  with  wliich  this  ailment 
was  distinguished  from  all  others  of  a  similar  kind.  A  deadly 
poison  was  not  allowed  to  spread  among  the  people  of  God. 
Everything  smitten  of  God,  and  become  subject  to  the  dark,  un- 
clean dominion  of  death,  was  to  be  put  away  from  the  midst  of 
them.  From  the  carrying  out  of  this  principle,  no  doubt,  im- 
portant consequences  as  concerns  the  health  would  follow.  It  is 
somewhat  remarkable,  that  of  all  sicknesses  leprosy  (elephanti- 
asis) is  distinguished  as  peculiarly  unclean.  In  order  to  un- 
derstand this,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  this  fearful  malady, 
which  is  indigenous  in  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor,  both  in  its  deeply 
latent  commencement  and  in  its  certain,  nearly  incurable  pro- 
gress and  horrible  effects,  has  nothing  like  itself,  and  so  even  by 
the  Greeks  was  called  "  the  first-born  son  of  death."  It  is  an 
ever-progressive  dying.  Its  pollution,  therefore,  was  of  an  equal 
character  with  that  which  resulted  from  touching  the  dead. — 
Egypt  has  ever  been  the  main  seat  of  this  evil,  from  very  early 
times  to  the  ]n'esent  day.  Moses  could  only  from  actual  ex- 
perience and  from  observation  of  the  evil  have  been  able  to  lay 
down  the  particular  and  accurate  description  in  this  chapter,  and 
was  the  many  wise  regulations  against  it.  Later  observa- 
tions have  verified  the  accuracy  and  clearness  of  the  account  of 
the  symptoms  of  the  malady  which  distinguish  it  from  other 
kindred  diseases.  Leprosy  is  a  poison  which  often  lies  latent  in 
the  system  for  years,  and  shows  itself  in  a  skin  disease.  When 
inherited  or  produced  by  contagion,  it  causes  death  sometimes 
not  until  after  the  lapse  of  twenty  years  or  more.  The  disease, 
for  the  most  part,  breaks  out  suddenly  in  the  form  of  a  small 
white  spot  or  blotch,  which  arises  often  quite  quickly  under  the 
influence  of  fear  or  some  other  emotion.  Afterwards  the  spot 
extends  and  spreads ;  the  skin  sinks  ;  the  hair  changes  colour ; 
the  cellular  membranes  and  fatter  parts  of  the  body  gradually 


398  LEVITICUS  XIII.  2. 

corrupt ;  the  nerves  are  deadened  ;  sensation  is  lost ;  melanclioly, 
distressing  dreams,  despair,  torment  the  suftei'er;  the  breath 
stinks ;  digestion  is  destroyed ;  the  deep-seated,  fatal  poison  then 
seizes  the  joints ;  the  whole  limbs  rot,  and  death  comes  slowly, 
though  at  last,  very  often,  suddenly.  Of  the  different  species  of 
this  disease  the  white  leprosy,  (Heb.,  Zaraath)  is  the  most  noted 
in  the  O.  T.  The  black  leprosy  was  probably  Job's  malady  ;  and 
the  tuberous  kind  (elephantiasis)  is  that  mentioned,  Deut.  xxviii. 
27,  35,  as  the  sickness  pecidiarly  Egyptian.  All  kinds  of  this 
malady  are,  as  a  rule,  hereditary,  and  continue  to  the  third  and 
often  fourth  generation,  when  it  then  merges  into  some  peculiar 
appearances,  as  in  the  breath,  of  the  teeth,  in  languor  and  feeble- 
ness of  body.  The  leprosy  which  is  really  seated  in  the  con- 
stitution and  has  broken  out,  is  regarded  even  to  this  day  as 
incurable.  The  leper  is  therefore  looked  on  as  already  a  child  of 
death.  He  is  excluded  from  all  communion  with  his  fellow-man. 
He  must  go  about  as  a  person  in  deep  mourning  (ver.  45),  and 
alone  ;  his  dwelling  must  be  without  the  camp  (ver.  46).  But 
as  every  contact  with  the  leper  did  not  produce  the  uncleanness, 
nor  even  a  very  close  one,  therefore  all  these  regulations  are  to  be 
regarded  as  of  a  religious  character  and  not  as  medical  precau- 
tions.— Cf.,  on  the  miraculous  healing  of  the  lepers,  what  is 
said  St  Matt.  viii.  1,  introd.  As  we  are  there  reminded,  this 
disease  is  to  be  regarded  as  an  image  of  sin,  which  view  may  be 
followed  up  deeply  and  widely. 

Yer.  2.  A  rising. — Those  little  spots  which  sometimes,  though 
very  rarely,  pass  away. 

Bright  spot. — A  white  spot,  which  is  a  symptom  of  the  white 
leprosy. 

Plague  of  leprosy. — The  leprosy  has  in  Hebrew  the  very  de- 
scriptive name  "scourge;"  fully,  "blow  of  the  scourge."  So 
completely  was  this  evil  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  all  Divine 
visitations. 

The  jji'iests. — We  see  from  this  duty  which  was  imposed  on 
the  priests,  that  their  office  necessarily  required  some  knowledge 
of  medicine,  and  must  have  made  them  the  physicians  of  the 
people,  as  we  find  was  the  case  with  the  heathen  nations.  But 
their  business  in  the  matter  was  essentially  a  religious  one ;  and 
we  do  not  find  that  in  other  maladies  they  had  such  functions  to 
discharge. 


LEVITICUS  XIII.  3-23.  309 

Ver.  3.  His  flesh ;  i.e.,  wlien  it  is  seen  that  the  tumour  goes 
deeper  tluui  the  skin,  presses  into  the  flesh. 

Unclean. — Lit.,  "defile  liim."  As  the  expressions  "to purify," 
"  to  sanctify,"  often  occur  for  declaring  "  clean,"  "  holy."  Under 
the  term  is  implied  that  the  judgment  of  the  representative  of 
God  was  the  judgment  of  God  Himself. 

Ver.  6.  Be  clean. — It  is  remarkable  that  modern  physicians 
prescribe  just  the  same  mode  of  proceeding  in  the  examination 
of  this  malady.  "  It  is  difficult,"  says  one  of  them,  "  to  pro- 
nounce a  decided  opinion  upon  this  disease,  until  the  spot  has 
increased  to  the  size  of  a  bean.  It  often  happens  that  the  spot 
remains  in  the  same  state  a  long  while,  and  does  not  widen, 
since  the  progress  is  quick  or  slow  according  to  the  constitution. 
If  it  remains  stationary  judgment  must  be  deferred.  Even  in 
the  event  of  its  tuiming  out  to  be  a  harmless  eruption,  still  the 
least  degree  of  legal  purification  must  follow,  since  the  mere 
suspicion  has  placed  the  person  infected  in  contact  with  the 
kingdom  of  the  Impure. 

Ver.  8.  Leprosy. — There  is  here  a  certain  mean  observed  in 
the  severity  of  the  inquiry  and  exclusion.  He  is  secluded  and 
watched  long  enough  for  the  eruption  to  show  whether  it  be  of 
a  malignant  character  or  not :  if  it  should  be  so,  then  the  pro- 
nouncino;  clean  goes  for  nothino;. 

Ver.  10.  Raio  flesh. — Heb. :  "  A  spot  of  raw  flesh."  In  one 
kind  of  leprosy  there  is  no  moisture  in  the  ulcer,  but  under  it  a 
thick  skin  and  red  tuberous  flesh,  which  sometimes  grows  to  the 
size  of  a  mulberry. 

Ver.  13.  He  is  clean. — This  is  the  case  in  the  same  kind  of 
leprosy  when  the  disease  comes  to  an  end.  Then  the  whole  skin 
from  head  to  foot  is  covered  with  white  scabs  like  scales,  which 
fall  oft"  in  the  course  of  ten  or  twelve  days,  upon  which  the  skin 
becomes  clean  and  the  disease  is  over.  This  is  one  of  the  very 
rare  cases  when,  by  the  complete  outbreak  of  the  poison  at  once, 
the  body  gets  freed  from  it.  The  same  holds  good  of  the  change 
of  the  red,  raw  flesh  into  white,  of  which  there  is  mention  im- 
mediately after. 

Ver.  23.  Pronounce  him  clean. — The  case,  therefore,  is  that  of 
an  ulcer  which  at  first  is  harmless,  and  is  not  seated  in  the  flesh 
but  only  in  the  skin,  but  in  which  afterwards  something  of  a 
leprous  character  is  visible. 


400  LEVITICUS  XIII.  24-59. 

Ver.  24.  Reddish. — Lit. :  "  And  there  arise  a  suppurating 
spot  of  burning,  reddish  or  white;"  i.e.,  a  pustule  with  white 
matter,  which  on  the  outside  has  a  reddish  or  white  hue.  Such 
small  or  harmless  sores  A'ery  easily  turn  into  leprosy. 

Ver.  30.  Head  or  beard. — The  leprosy  broke  out  very  fre- 
quently in  the  hair,  and  there  were  some  peculiar  previous 
symptoms,  for  which  cause  it  is  particularly  treated  of. 

Ver.  39.  He  is  clean. — They  are  harmless  pustules — head- 
disease. 

Ver.  45.  Ujjper  Up. — Heb.,  "  the  beard  veiled."  This  was 
also  a  sign  of  mourning. 

Unclean,  %inclean. — He  shall  w^arn  any  one  approaching  him 
from  a  distance  w^ith  these  words. 

Ver.  46.  Without  the  camp. — So  afterwards  was  Miriam  ex- 
cluded fi'om  the  camp.  Num.  xii.  15  ;  and  in  like  manner,  at  a 
later  period,  was  King  Uzziah  or  Azariah  obliged  to  dwell  in  a 
house  apart  (2  Kings  xv.  5).  In  the  synagogues,  the  lepers  had 
particular  seats  appointed  them  :  they  were  obliged  to  enter 
the  first  and  to  leave  the  last.  It  is  remarkable  how  well  even 
the  Jewish  teachers  themselves  understood  the  symbolical  mean- 
ing of  this  regulation ;  for  thus  speaks  one  of  them  on  this  place. 
"  If  a  man  considers  this,  he  will  be  humbled  and  ashamed  on 
account  of  his  sin ;  since  every  sin  is  a  leprosy,  a  spot  upon  his 
soul.  And,  as  it  is  written  of  the  leper,  his  clothes  shall  be 
rent,  etc. ;  in  like  manner,  the  defilement  on  his  soul,  which  is 
far  removed  from  the  holiness  on  high,  shall  equally  separate  him 
from  the  camp  of  Israel.  And  if  a  man  turns  to  repentance  in 
order  to  be  cleansed  from  his  spots,  behold  he  is  clean  from  his 
leprosy,  but  otherwise  the  leprosy  remains  clinging  to  his  soid ; 
and  in  this  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come,  he  is  far  removed 
from  the  whole  camp  there  above  until  he  has  become  cleansed." 
The  law  instructs  how  to  know  leprosy,  pronounces  the  leper 
unclean,  shuts  him  out  from  the  congregation,  but  it  has  not 
power  to  heal  him :  this  was  reserved  for  the  Son  of  God,  to 
cleanse  bodily  in  figure,  and  spiritually  also,  as  the  true  Redeemer 
from  sin  and  its  consequences. 

•  Ver.  59.  Unclean. — In  the  East,  similar  appearances  to  those 
of  the  leprosy  in  human  beings  which  are  found  in  trees,  houses, 
and  garments,  are  called  by  the  same  name  as  the  human 
disease.     We  are  not  in  this  to  suppose  anything  about  an  in- 


LEVITICUS  XIV.  401 

fecti'on  from  men,  of  wliicli  not  a  word  is  said.  The  thing  itself  has 
not  yet  been  sufficiently  inquired  into  in  tlie  East ;  and,  there- 
fore, there  are  only  suppositions  on  the  subject,  of  which  the 
most  probable  is  this, — that  the  spots  here  described  in  woollen 
stuff,  originate  in  the  so-called  morling  (dead  wool),  that  which 
comes  from  sheep  who  have  died  of  disease.  Others  suppose  the 
spots  to  be  those  caused  by  insects.  But,  whatever  may  be  the 
reason  of  this  mischief  in  wool,  linen,  and  leather,  in  any  case 
this  law  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  police  regulation  against  the 
use  of  damaged  articles,  but  as  a  command  which  would  place 
before  the  eyes  of  the  people  an  image  of  sin  and  of  death  in  a 
fretting  disorder,  which  raised  general  disgust. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  purifying  of  the  leper  has  an  affinity  to  some  other 
customs — to  the  purifying  of  those  who  are  unclean  by  touching 
the  dead  (Num.  xix.)  ;  to  the  sin-offering  on  the  day  of  atone- 
ment (ch.  xvi.)  ;  to  the  covenant  offering  (Exod.  xxiv.) ;  to  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Nazarite  who  is  made  unclean  (Num.  vi.)  ;  and 
to  the  consecration  of  the  priest  (Exod  xxix.)  ;  which  customs 
are  to  be  considered  in  their  significance,  and  carefully  to  be 
compared.  The  purifying  of  the  lepers  consisted  of  two  degrees ; 
the  first  made  it  possible  for  the  person  to  be  cleansed,  again  to 
enter  the  camp,  and  to  be  received  into  the  congregation  of  the 
people  (ver.  1-8);  the  second  reconciled  him  to  the  Lord;  and 
was  made  in  different  manners,  according  as  he  was  rich  enough 
or  not,  to  bring  the  greater  sacrifice  (ver.  9-31).  As  the  leper 
was  altogether  regarded  as  a  dead  person,  the  sin-offering  was 
made  for  his  first  purification,  like  to  that  of  the  red  heifer, 
outside  the  camp.  The  first  bird  killed  for  the  purification  was 
intended  to  receive  the  impurity  to  itself.  Together  with  its  life, 
streaming  forth  in  the  blood,  was  the  uncleanness  poured  out. 
The  blood  was  mingled  with  the  purest,  that  is,  with  running 
Avatei',  in  order,  together  with  the  peculiar  atonement,  to  point 
especially  to  the  purifying.  With  tliis  was  mixed  cedar-wood, 
as  the  most  vigorous   of  all   woods;  and  hyssop,    a   frequent 

2  c 


402  LEVITICUS  XIV. 

emblem  of  purification ;  and  scarlet-coloured  wool,  the  most 
brilliant  among  the  sacred  colours  of  the  tabernacle  (Exod.  xxv. 
4),  in  order  to  strengthen  the  life-renewing,  purifying,  sanctify- 
ing, power  of  the  blood  and  water.  But  this  was  not  enough. 
The  atonement  must  be  made  equal  to  the  greatest  of  all — that 
on  the  day  of  atonement.  A  second  living  bird  was  dipped  into 
the  blood,  and  then  let  go  free,  in  order  to  carry  away  the  un- 
cleanness  altogether.  The  leper  (as  in  the  case  of  the  covenant 
sacrifice)  was  sprinkled  with  the  blood,  as  a  sign  of  his  appro- 
priating to  himself  the  atonement  and  renewing  the  covenant  with 
God  (Exod.  xxiv.  8).  The  whole  solemnity  is  not  called  "  sacri- 
fice," since  it  did  not  take  place  in  a  sacred  place ;  nor  was  the 
leper  yet  in  a  position  to  appear  before  the  Lord.  For  that  pur- 
pose he  must  again  be  received  into  the  congregation  of  Israel. 
Still,  this  purification  had  the  characteristics  of  a  sin-offering,  as 
is  seen  by  a  comparison  with  the  (expressly  so-called)  sin-offer- 
ing of  the  red-heifer ;  and  also  shown  by  the  expression  to 
"cleanse"  (or  "to  atone  for"  "  entsihidigen")  in  the  case  of 
purifying  the  houses,  ver.  49.  After  the  former  leper  had  un- 
dergone other  cleansings,  he  now  again  entered  the  congregation 
of  the  Israelites,  yet  at  first  after  a  more  external  manner.  Now 
he  must  bring  his  trespass-offering — which  kind  of  offering  was 
here  altogether  in  its  place ;  because  the  leprosy  was  not  of  the 
nature  of  a  personal  moral  guilt,  but  rather  had  been  a  dis- 
turbance in  the  life  of  the  people — a  robbery,  for  a  time,  of  one 
of  God's  subjects,  for  which  restitution  must  be  made  (cf.  ch.  v., 
in  trod.,  and  especially  ch.  v.  15,  etc.).  In  this  particular,  that 
this  offering  was  a  trespass  and  not  a  sin-offering,  the  act  re- 
sembles the  purification  of  a  Nazarite,  and  is  distinguishable 
from  the  consecration  of  the  priests.  It  differs  fii-om  the  latter 
in  the  circumstance,  that  no  thank-offering  takes  place,  and  the 
trespass-offering  precedes  the  others,  the  reason  of  which  is 
obvious  from  the  nature  of  the  relation.  But  now  was  the 
person  to  be  purified  (just  as  the  priests  at  their  consecration), 
to  be  touched  on  the  ear,  the  thumb,  and  the  toe,  with  blood 
and  oil.  The  pieces  of  the  sacrifices  also  must  be  waved,  doubt- 
less, in  order  to  mark  the  act  as  a  new  consecration — a  reinstate- 
ment among  the  people  of  priests  (Exod.  xviii.  6).  After  what 
has  been  said  on  the  subject  of  the  purifications  in  general,  and 
the  leprosy  in  particular,  in  the  introd.  to   chs.  xi.-xiii.,  the 


LEVITICUS  XIY.  5,  8.  403 

meaning  of  the  purification  wlilcli  takes  place  lierc  cannot  be 
doubtful.  Like  the  uncleanness  of  women  after  chiklbirth,  the 
leprosy  was  not  in  the  individual  a  personal,  criminal,  evil ;  but 
as  death  is  the  punishment  of  sin,  so  is  this  malady  as  the  main 
instrument  of  death,  a  continual  memento  of  the  general  guilt  of 
all  men,  and  of  the  sin  of  the  particular  person ;  hence  the 
necessity  of  a  symbolical  purification,  and  of  a  renewed  consecra- 
tion after  the  person  had  been  received  into  the  congregation  of 
the  living. 

Ver.  5.  Running  xoater ;  i.e.,  as  the  sequel  shows,  in  such  a 
manner,  that  the  living  water  (drawn  from  a  brook  or  stream) 
was  put  into  a  vessel.  Water  is  the  often  recurring  emblem  of 
the  purifying  and  reviving  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  cf.  St  John 
vii.  39,  note.  We  are  reminded  by  the  circumstance,  that  the 
purifying  was  by  water  and  blood,  of  Him  who  came  "  not  by 
water  only,  but  by  water  and  blood,"  1  St  John  v.  6,  note. 

Ver.  7.  Seven  times. — To  this,  as  to  the  offering  of  the  red 
heifei',  do  those  passages  of  the  N.  T,  refer,  which  speak  of  the 
sprinkling  with  the  blood  of  Christ,  Heb.  ix.  14,  ch.  xii.  24 ; 
1  St  Pet.  i.  2.  Seven  times  is  also  here  the  number  of  the 
covenant,  which  also  occurs  in  the  case  of  the  cleansing  of 
Naaman,  who  dipped  himself  seven  times  in  Jordan ;  2  Kings 
V.  10. 

Loose. — This  custom  is  expressly  explained  in  the  case  of  the 
goaton  the  day  of  atonement  (ch.  xvi.  21,  22);  namely,  that  the  sins 
are  thereby  to  be  borne  away.  This  meaning  of  the  action  is  clear, 
from  the  circumstance  that  the  bird  has  been  dipped  in  the 
blood  and  water  which  is  intended  entirely  to  take  away  the  un- 
cleanness. The  explanation  altogether  misses  its  meaning,  which 
supposes  that  the  resurrection  of  the  leper  from  his  social  death 
is  thereby  intended,  since  the  main  point  in  the  same,  the  restora- 
tion to  the  congregation  is  certainly  not  signified  by  this  action, 
for  the  bird  flies  into  the  open  air  and  does  not  return  again. 
Rather,  the  restoration  Ibllows  as  a  matter  of  course,  so  soon  as 
all  hindrances  are  removed.  This  is  just  now  represented  by  the 
flying  away  of  the  bird.  This  meaning  of  the  letting  the  bird 
loose  is,  moreover,  confirmed  by  the  command  to  perform  the 
same  act  in  the  case  of  purifying  the  houses,  ver.  53. 

Ver.  8.  Ills  hair. — Because  the  leprosy  has  especially  its  scat 
in  the  hair.     But  this  was  not  a  sanitary  regulation,  and  was  not 


404  LEVITICUS  XIV.  18-40. 

done  in  order  to  show  that  a  man  was  clean,  but  it  had  the 
symbolical  significance  of  a  sacred  purification.  For  the  same 
reason  the  Egyptian  priests  shave  the  whole  body. 

Seven  days. — Partly  because  he  was  not  yet  fully  clean  ;  and 
this  was  to  be  denoted  outwardly,  but  more  particularly,  in  order 
that  the  person  cleansed  might  not  again,  in  this  time,  defile  him- 
self afresh:  according  to  ch.  xv.  18. 

Ver.  18.  Make  an  atonement. — Upon  all  this  cf.  Exod.  xxix,  19. 

Ver.  19.  Uncleanness. — Here,  therefore,  is  the  atonement 
clearly  distinct  from  the  removal  of,  and  compensation  for,  the 
trespass. 

Ver.  21.  To  he  loaved. — This  also,  as  in  the  consecration  of 
the  priest,  Exod.  xxix.  24 ;  only  that  there  the  pieces  of  the  sa- 
crifice are  laid  in  the  hands  of  the  priest  to  be  consecrated,  and 
are  -waved  by  him,  which  here,  naturally,  the  priest  must  do  for 
the  leper. 

Ver.  35.  In  the  house. — The  disease  of  the  houses,  or  of  the 
walls,  of  which  mention  is  here  made,  is,  probably,  one  still  fi'e- 
quent  in  Egypt,  and,  therefore,  at  that  time,  sufficiently  well 
known  to  the  Israelites.  The  great  abhorrence  with  which 
leprosy  was  regarded,  had  probably  long  ago  directed  their  atten- 
tion to  this  malady  in  houses ;  and  so  the  regulations  on  this  sub- 
ject are  naturally  annexed  to  the  laws  respecting  leprosy  in  the 
human  being. — It  is  supposed,  almost  with  certainty,  that  by 
this  leprosy  of  the  walls,  we  are  to  understand  what  is  called  by 
us  the  salpetre  rot.  It  is  thus  described: — "It  is  found  espe- 
cially on  damp  walls,  which  stand  on  wet  ground,  or  which  have 
not  been  sufliciently  dried.  It  appears  on  the  walls  in  the  shape 
of  a  ring,  causes  the  mortar  to  break  out  like  great  boils,  and 
eats  it  away  so  that  it  falls  out  and  leaves  great  holes.  Green 
and  other  spots,  likewise  are  observable  on  such  walls.  If  the 
dampness  increases,  the  saltness  passes  on  to  the  water  which 
flows  down  the  walls.  All  which  stands  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  wall  decays.  If  the  mortar  is  removed,  and  the  house 
fresh  plastered,  it  is  of  no  avail,  the  wall-rot  returns  again.  The 
only  remedy  is  to  pull  down  the  wall,  and  to  build  another  in  its 
place,  of  dry  brick." 

Ver.  36.  In  the  house. — At  first  the  furniture  of  the  house  is 
not  yet  attacked  by  the  disease,  and  is  not  unclean. 

Ver.  40.    Unclean  place. — It  is  clear  from  this,  and  also  from 


LEVITICUS  XIV.  41,  53;   XV.  12.  405 

the  uncleanness  attached  to  the  men  who  touch  the  house,  that 
the  evil  should  be  represented  as  not  simply  shameful,  but  as  a 
type  of  sin,  and  so  far  an  object  of  inward  abhorrence.  The 
ashes  of  the  sin-offering  were  put  in  a  clean  place,  this  dust  in  an 
unclean. 

Vcr.  41.  To  he  scraped. — Also  the  rest  of  the  wall,  besides  the 
place  manifestly  leprous,  in  order  to  see  whether,  under  the 
plaster,  the  poison  might  not  also  show  itself  on  the  stones. 

Ver.  53.  Shall  he  clean. — The  surprising  part,  which  at  first 
sight  appears  in  this,  is,  that  a  sin-offering  was  to  be  made  for 
the  house,  as  also  for  the  purification  of  a  leprous  human  being  ; 
but  it  leads  again  to  the  conclusion,  that  every  disoi'der  which 
sin  has  caused  among  men — and  leprosy  was  peculiarly  regarded 
as  such — should  be  covered  by  God's  means  of  healing — with- 
drawn from  Plis  sight — and  so  His  grace  again  turned  towards 
man.  The  sin  of  man  has,  as  it  were,  here  taken  a  bodily  form, 
and  entered  into  his  dwellings,  just  as  in  the  unclean  animals  it 
manifests  itself  in  the  creation.  This  sight,  offensive  before  God, 
is  to  be  removed  from  before  Him,  the  uncleanness  of  the  house 
to  be  exterminated  by  the  most  powerful  means  of  purification, 
and  to  be  taken  entirely  away,  and  thus  the  house  to  be  restored 
to  an  object  well-pleasing  in  His  sight. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Hitherto  the  greatest  degrees  of  pollutions — by  means  of  un- 
clean meats,  of  child-birth,  of  leprosy — have  been  spoken  about : 
now  the  lower  degrees  of  pollution  follow,  which  also  require 
only  a  less  kind  of  cleansing  and  atonement.  The  cases  which  im- 
mediately succeed,  refer  generally  to  the  sexual  relations  ;  partly, 
as  the  first  and  last,  to  those  which  have  the  character  of  disease  ; 
partly,  as  the  two  middle  cases,  to  those  which  are  natural,  but 
which  still  point  to  a  certain  condition  of  weakness  and  disorder 
in  human  nature.  The  reason  and  the  significance  of  all  these 
pollutions  has  already  been  explained,  chap,  xii.,  introd. 

Ver.  12.  Rinsed  tcith  icatev. — It  would  be  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  these  regulations  to  suppose,  that  in  such  cases  the  fear  of 


406  LEVITICUS  XV.  13-19. 

infection  was  the  reason  of  declaring  the  person  unclean.  Similar 
rules  are  afterwards  given  respecting  the  blood-flow  in  women, 
where  it  is  impossible  to  think  of  infection  or  any  bodily  harm. 
The  commands  rather  refer  to  the  holy  awe  with  which  all 
things  relating  to  sexual  intercourse  should  be  regarded,  and 
to  the  horror  of  every  irregular  appearance  in  the  same. 

Ver.  13.  Shall  he  clean. — Here  also,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
leper,  we  see  two  degrees  of  purification  :  the  first  cleanses  a 
person  rather  outwardly  and  bodily,  and  so  far  as  men  are  con- 
cerned, but  does  not  excuse  him  from  that  before  the  Lord,  which 
can  only  be  obtained  by  the  second. 

Ver.  15.  For  his  issue. — By  the  first  is  the  interrupted  rela- 
tion to  God  to  be  restored  ;  by  the  second  the  renewed  surrender 
to  God  to  be  completed. 

Ver.  18.  Until  the  even. — In  both  the  cases  here  named  the 
slightest  degree  of  uncleanness  took  place,  which  was  to  be 
removed  without  atonement  or  purification — merely  by  the 
lapse  of  an  interval  of  time.  And,  in  respect  to  both  (the  first 
can  happen  altogether  involuntarily,  and,  therefore,  be  without 
sin),  it  is  well  to  remark,  that  neither  on  the  man  or  the  woman 
is  the  least  reflection  thrown,  nor  is  it  maintained  that  their  act 
has,  in  the  remotest  sense  of  the  word,  anything  sinful  in  it. 
Children  were  highly  prized  as  a  gift  of  God — the  unmarried 
condition  is  nowhere  praised,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  esteemed  a 
Divine  punishment  and  a  disgrace,  and,  therefore,  there  could  be 
nothing  sinful  in  the  procreation  of  children.  But,  in  doing  the 
acts  here  mentioned,  a  man  ought  well  to  consider  that  he  is 
entering  into  a  province  which,  more  than  any  other,  has  become 
the  seat  of  sin,  and  which,  in  its  present  condition,  will  cease 
with  the  removal  of  sin.  Pie  should,  therefore,  consider,  while 
he  obeys  the  most  powerful  passion  of  his  fleshly  nature,  in  an  act 
in  itself  altogether  innocent,  that  he  may  not,  without  prepara- 
tion, venture  to  touch  holy  things  which  belong  to  God  ;  that  he 
ought  not,  without  seriously  composing  his  mind,  and  without  a 
consciousness  of  his  natural  distance  from  God,  to  enter  into 
communion  with  Him  and  with  His  congregation.  What  a 
wholesome  influence  on  chastity  and  self-restraint  must  this  law- 
have  exercised  !  Now,  in  figure,  are  Christians  still  exhorted  not 
to  come  behind  the  people  of  the  Old  Covenant  in  this  respect. 

Ver.  19.  Seven  days. — The  number  of  days  which  exceeds  the 


LEVITICUS  XV.  24-31  ;  XVI.  407 

usual  time,  at  least  in  our  climate,  appears  to  signify,  that  in  the 
fixing  of  the  duration,  what  is  natural  was  not  so  much  con- 
sidered as  the  proper  regard  to  the  covenant  of  God  which  had 
been  broken. 

Ver.  24.  Unclean. — For  this  kind  of  pollution  also,  as  for  that 
of  ver.  16-18,  no  legal  purification  is  prescribed — only  during 
the  continuance  of  it  was  the  woman  to  withdraw  herself  from 
the  congregation.  The  uncleanness  last  mentioned,  if  it  took 
place  wittingly,  involved  "  the  being  cut  off  from  the.  people," 
ch.  XX.  18.  ^ 

Ver.  25.  Unclean. — Two  cases  :  when  it  took  place  at  an  ir- 
regular time,  or  when  it  continued  beyond  the  usual  length. 

Ver.  29.  Congregation. — Just  as  in  the  case  of  the  man, 
ver.  14. 

Ver.  31.  Among  them. — This  is  the  last  reason  of  all  these 
laws  of  purification,  which,  at  the  conclusion,  is  strongly  brought 
forward.  In  the  time  of  their  uncleanness  they  shall  not  come 
in  contact  with  the  sanctuary,  which,  without  separation,  had 
been  unavoidable. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

We  now  enter  on  the  centre  point  of  all  the  atonements  and 
purifications  which  the  law  prescribes  to  the  people,  on  the  ordi- 
nance of  the  great  day  of  atonement.  Its  name  is  literally  the 
"  day  of  atonements  "  (ch.  xxiii.  27).  The  plural  shows  that  it 
includes  every  other  kind  of  atonement.  It  is  called  the  "  festival 
of  festivals,"  the  "sabbath  of  sabbaths,"  ver.  31.  By  the  later 
Jews  it  was  called  "  Joma,"  day,  as  the  day  of  all  days.  As 
there  was  a  higher,  greater  atonement,  which  was  to  take  place 
in  the  holy  place  (cli.  iv.  G,  17),  so  must  this,  the  most  import- 
ant of  all,  be  performed  in  the  Holy  of  holies.  It  nn'ght  not  be 
made  by  a  common  priest,  but  only  by  the  high  priest,  whose 
distinguishing  office  it  was  to  offer  it.  And,  on  this  day,  he  was 
to  wear  a  particular  dress,  which,  both  by  its  colourlessness,  was 
a  remembrancer  of  the  great  solemnity  of  the  day  ;  and,  by  its 
whiteness,  of  the  highest  point  of  holiness  on  which  he  was  stand- 


408  LEVITICUS  XVI. 

ing,  in  order  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  Highly  exalted 
as  he  was,  he  was  still,  at  the  same  time,  deeply  humbled,  since, 
before  the  atonement  made  for  the  people,  he  was  obliged  to  re- 
concile himself  and  the  whole  priestly  order  to  God.  But  the 
atonement  for  the  people,  which  now  took  place,  had  the  peculi- 
arity, that  a  very  remarkable  addition  was  made  to  the  sacrifice 
of  atonement.  Two  goats  were  solemnly  presented  before  the 
Lord  for  a  sin-offering,  which  were  separated  into  two  parts. 
Lots  were  cast  on  the  goats,  the  Lord  Himself,  who  decides  how 
the  lot  shall  fall  (Prov.  xvi.  33),  determined  that  one  should  be 
for  Himself,  to  be  slain  ;  the  other  for  the  "  Asasel"  so  in  (Heb. 
V.  8,  X.  26)  ;  i.e.,  for  the  banished,  rejected,  driven  out.  Thrice 
thereupon  the  high  priest  goes  into  the  Holy  of  holies :  the  first 
time  with  the  golden  censer,  in  order  to  take  fire  from  the  altar, 
and  to  raise  a  cloud  of  incense  before  the  mercy-seat ;  the  second 
time,  in  order  to  sprinkle  the  blood  of  his  own  bullock ;  and 
the  third  time,  to  sprinkle  the  blood  of  the  goat,  the  people's  sin- 
oflFering,  upon  and  before  the  mercy-seat.  When,  then,  all 
things  of  a  sacred  character  have  been  cleansed,  the  High  Priest, 
figuratively  lays  the  sins  of  the  people  on  the  live  goat,  and 
causes  him  to  be  led  by  a  man  into  the  Avilderness — into  a 
"separated"  land,  in  order  that  there  as  "Asasel,"  it  may  bear  the 
sins  of  the  whole  congregation. — While  all  the  other  circum- 
stances of  the  solemnity  explain  themselves,  this  remarkable 
addition  to  the  sin-offering  should  be  more  closely  examined. 
The  sins  of  the  people  are  already  done  away  by  the  sin- 
offering  of  the  first  goat ;  but,  in  order  to  symbolize  more  forcibly 
its  entire  removal,  were  these  sins,  which  were  already  forgiven, 
to  be  laid  on  the  goat  which  was  to  be  driven  into  a  waste,  i.  e., 
a  "  separated  "  land ;  i.e.,  to  be  driven  from  a  region  which  was 
inhabited  and  set  apart  by  God's  blessing,  into  one  which  was 
distant  from,  and  rejected  by.  Him.  That  this  goat  is  now  con- 
sidered as  a  person,  an  evil  spirit,  is  very  probable,  by  the 
opposite  position  of  the  two  goats  in  the  casting  of  lots  (ver.  8). 
The  Egyptians  also,  and  the  Persians,  believed  in  an  evil  spirit 
which  inhabited  the  desert  neighbouring  countries,  Lybia, 
Turan,  and  they  sent  to  him  those  offerings  from  the  blessed 
valley  of  the  Nile,  fi-om  the  kingdom  of  light — L'an.  But  in 
their  case,  the  contrast  which  lay  in  the  province  of  Nature,  we 
find  here  in  the  kingdom  of  revelation  to  be  altoi^ether  in  the 


LEVITICUS  XVI.  409 

province  of  sanctity.  The  wilderness  is  only  an  emblem  of 
death  as  the  wages  of  s»n.  As  Adam,  after  the  fall,  was  obliged 
to  till  the  ground  out  of  which  he  was  taken  ;  Cain,  after  his 
crime,  to  wander  into  the  desert  barren  land  of  Nod,  wdiich  even, 
when  cultivated,  should  give  him  no  pleasure — in  like  manner, 
the  "banished  one,"  the  rejected  by  God,  dwells  in  a  land  which 
is  altoo-ether  severed — in  a  desert  land  into  which  sin  has  brouiiht 
him  who  has  seduced  man  into  sin.  In  later  times,  a  purj^le- 
coloured  thread  was  bound  round  the  head  of  the  live  goat.  All 
conceivable  kinds  of  invectives  were  poured  upon  him  ;  and  the 
man  who  led  him  into  the  wilderness  was  obliged  to  throw  him 
down  a  precipice.  This  last  act  (though  it  might  likewise 
have  its  origin  in  superstition,  which  converted  the  symbolical 
into  the  actual)  arose,  perhaps,  from  a  misconception  which  ex- 
isted among  the  later  Jews,  to  which  the  whole  circumstance 
ought  to  have  been  a  contradiction — as  if  the  goat  which  was 
taken  away  was  a  sacrifice  made  to  the  devil,  in  order  to  pacify 
him,  that  he  might  not  interfere  with  the  blessing  of  the  other 
sacrifice.  But  this  solemnity  contained  the  exact  antidote  to 
such  sacrifices  as  were  offered  by  the  heathen  to  Typhon  and 
other  evil  spirits,  since  both  animals  were  presented  before  the 
Lord,  and  at  His  command  the  goat  carried  away  the  sins  to 
Asasel,  in  order  to  remove  them  from  the  people.  Whoever 
considered  this  must  be  vividly  impressed  with  the  conviction, 
that  it  was  the  Lord  who  sanctified  His  people.  Who  banished 
the  scape  goat,  and  now  had  afresh  taken  away  all  sin — that  His 
people  ought  not  to  stand  in  the  slightest  relationship  to  an  evil 
spirit,  which  could  have  no  power  over  them.  This  great 
solemnity  took  place  once  a  year,  in  order  that  an  entire  atone- 
ment might  be  offered  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  year.  But  it 
must  be  repeated  yearly;  because  the  atonement  could  take  place 
only  in  figure,  only  symbolically,  since  the  High  Priest  himself 
was  a  sinner,  and  the  sacrifice  itself  but  the  sacrifice  of  an 
animal.  Now,  once  for  all  and  for  ever,  has  the  sacrifice  of  His 
own  life  been  offered  to  God  by  the  sinless  High  Priest,  and  an 
eternal  reconciliation  been  thereby  effected.  By  this  ceremony 
of  the  goats  is  the  Christian  reminded,  that  by  the  great  atoning 
sacrifice  on  the  cross  sin  has  both  been  forgiven  him,  and  likewise 
far  removed  from  him  as  a  member  of  Christ,  into  the  far  distant 
and  separated  land — into  the  kingdom  of  darkness. 


410  LEVITICUS  XVI.  1-8. 

Ver.  1.  Died. — As  the  most  important  laws  ^Yel•e  revealed  on 
marked  occasions,  so  it  apjiears  also,  that  the  death  of  Aaron's 
sons  gave  rise  to  this  law.  A  deep  impression  of  the  inviolability 
of  the  sacred  institutions  of  the  Lord  was  thereby  made.  This 
impression,  it  was  intended,  should  be  kept  alive  and  strength- 
ened by  the  separation  of  the  Holy  of  holies  fi'om  all  service  ex- 
cepting on  the  day  of  atonement.  The  command  therefore 
commences  at  once  with  this  point. 

Ver.  2.  Mercy-seat. — In  all  temples  of  the  ancient  world, 
there  was  an  inner  sanctuary,  which  bore  the  name,  "unap- 
proachable" (Adyton,  Abaton),  and  into  which  alone  conse- 
crated persons  were  allowed  to  enter.  Only  there  was  this 
difference  in  Israel — the  prohibition  referred  altogether  to  the 
sin  of  the  people ;  in  the  case  of  the  heathen,  to  the  apparition  of 
the  Godhead,  so  overpowering  to  finite,  circumscribed  mortals ; 
cf.  Gen.  xvi.  13,  note.  The  cloud  in  which  the  Lord  appeared  was 
the  pillar  of  the  cloud  in  which  He  had  gone  before  the  Israelites 
on  their  journey,  and  which  sank  down  on  the  tabernacle  at  its 
consecration.  It  is  not  distinctly  said  that  it  rested  perpetually 
on  the  mercy-seat,  as  the  later  Jews  supposed  (who  called  it 
"  Shechina,"  the  dwelling  of  God  among  His  people).  Notwith- 
standing that  God  appeared  in  a  cloud,  yet  was  the  high  priest 
obliged  to  envelop  the  whole  Holiest  place  in  a  cloud  of  incense, 
that  he  might  not  behold  too  near  the  veiled  majesty  of  God. 

Ver.  4.  Holy  garments. — The  priests  among  the  Egyptians 
also  wore  linen  garments. 

Ver.  6.  Mahe  atonement. — On  which  occasion,  according  to 
later  Jewish  tradition,  he  is  said  to  have  uttered  the  words,  "  O 
Lord  I  have  transgressed,  done  amiss,  and  sinned  in  Thy  sight,  I 
and  my  house !  O  Lord  cover  my  transgression  that  I  have 
sinned  against  Thee,  I  and  my  house,  as  it  stands  written  in  the 
law  of  Moses  Thy  servant,  since  on  this  day  is  the  atonement, 
etc."  (ver.  30). 

Ver.  8.  Scapegoat. — Heb.,  "  And  a  lot  for  Asasel."  This 
word  was  rendered  by  the  old  Greek  translation,  "  the  remover 
away;"  and  tlie  heathen  idea  of  a  God,  who  removes  evil  away, 
got  mingled  with  the  expression.  Afterwards  this  translation  Avas 
so  misunderstood,  as  if  it  were  meant,  "  the  sent  away;"  and  so 
arose  the  explanation  of  the  "  free  goat "  (as  it  is  in  Luther's 
version).     But  the  word  has  rather  the  sense  of  an  adjective, 


LEVITICUS  XVI.  10-lG.  411 

"  tlio  removed  far  away,  the  banished."  In  the  O.  T.  tlierc  is 
rarely  mention  of  tlie  devih  In  the  older  books  only  in  a  dark, 
indistinct  manner ;  no  donbt,  for  this  cause,  that  the  people,  with 
their  inclination  to  heathenism,  might  not,  by  the  doctrine,  be 
misled  to  the  notion  of  an  evil  deity.  And,  therefore,  at  the  fall, 
the  devil  appears  under  the  form  of  a  ser})ent,  "  which  God 
made,"  Gen,  iii.  1,  and  here,  under  the  indistinct,  mysterious 
name,  "  the  removed,"  rejected.  He  is  not  put  in  juxtaposition 
with  the  Lord  ;  but  the  goat  which  is  sent  to  him  is  a  part  of  the 
sin-offering  which  is  placed  before  the  Lord,  and  which  removes 
all  uncleanness  out  of  the  midst  of  His  people,  into  the  unclean, 
into  the  devil's  kingdom.  In  like  manner,  in  the  offering  at  the 
purification  of  the  leper,  one  of  the  two  birds  removed  far  away 
his  uncleanness. 

Ver.  10.  An  atonement  loith  him. — Name! 3^,  the  goat;  as  after- 
wards, the  holy  place  (ver.  16),  and  the  altar  (ver.  18),  must  be 
atoned  for,  because  those  who  dwelt  about  them  were  sinners, 
and,  in  the  atonement  made,  they  were  to  have  a  vivid  re- 
membrancer of  their  own  sin.  In  this  most  complete  oftering  of 
purification,  whatever  of  the  effects  and  consequences  of  sin  still 
clung  to  the  goat,  as  to  everything  earthly,  must  be  wiped  away. 
And  this  was  done,  by  its  being  presented  before  the  Lord. 

Wilderness. — The  wilderness,  as  the  image  of  the  dead  on 
earth,  w^as  regarded  as  the  dwelling-place  of  evil  spirits,  Isa. 
xiii.  21 ;  St  Matt.  xii.  43  ;  Eev.  xviii.  2. 

Ver.  11.  For  his  house. — His  descendants,  the  priestly  family. 
In  the  case  of  the  following  high  priests  this  was  the  collected 
priestly  order. 

Ver.  12.  Sweet  incense. — Heb.,  "  Incense  work  of  a  sweet 
savour."  He  should  s])read  abroad  the  savour  of  holy  acceptable 
prayer.     This  it  was  which  was  to  cover  the  mercy-seat. 

Ver.  16.  Remaineth. — Altogether  he  was  to  sprinkle  eight 
times — once  on  the  mercy-seat  itself,  then  seven  times  before  it. 
The  completion  of  the  atonement  on  this  great  day  of  all  atone- 
ments, had  reference  to  the  sacred  places  themselves,  which  had 
been  polluted  by  the  sins  of  the  people.  The  first  blood  sprink- 
ling was  to  cleanse  the  mercy-seat  itself;  the  second,  seven  times, 
the  Holy  of  holies,  from  the  sins  of  the  priests  ;  as  the  sprinkling 
eiglit  times,  which  followed  upon  this,  Avas  intended  to  cleanse 
it  from  the  sins  of  the  })eople.     The  main  symbolical  idea  of  the 


412  LEVITICUS  XVI.  21,  22. 

whole  tabernacle  was  that  of  a  dwelhng  of  God  among  His  people, 
which  drew  nigh  to  Him  in  the  person  of  the  common  priests  as 
far  as  the  holy  place ;  in  that  of  the  high  priest,  as  far  as  the 
Holy  of  holies.  As  all  these  persons  were  sinners,  they  polluted 
the  holy  places,  and  their  defilements  must  be  covered  by  the 
atoning  blood.  But  the  priests,  appear  in  this  case,  in  a  double 
character, — they  have  defiled  the  sanctuary  in  the  first  instance 
as  individual,  sinful  men,  and  next  as  mediators  of  the  people, 
and  both  must  be  atoned  for. — This  significant  type  tells  the 
Christian  that  there  is  nothing  in  itself  so  holy  as  not  to  need 
intercession  and  atonement.  God's  own  ordinances,  as  the 
preaching  of  His  word,  the  sacraments,  by  means  of  which  He 
dwells  among  us,  ought  never  to  be  approached  without  the  con- 
sciousness that,  only  through  the  power  of  Christ's  atoning  blood, 
are  they  pure  to  us,  and  the  channels  of  grace.  "  Since  whoso 
eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  damnation 
to  himself"  (1  Cor.  xi.  29).  Thus,  here  we  have  the  greatest 
and  most  momentous  type  of  Jesus  Christ,  "  wliom  God  had  set 
forth  to  be  a  mercy-seat  in  His  blood."  He  is  the  mercy-seat 
sprinkled  with  blood,  the  sight  of  which  affords  to  faith  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  full  forgiveness  of  sins. 

Ver.  21.  Head  of  the  goat. — A  similar,  yet  at  the  same  time 
an  essentially  difi:erent,  custom  took  place  in  Egypt.  Herodotus 
narrates,  ii.  39,  "  After  they  have  brought  a  drink-offering  and 
liave  called  on  the  god,  they  kill  the  animal  and  cut  off  its  head. 
They  then  flay  the  body  ;  but  on  the  head  they  lay  a  number  of 
curses,  and  either  give  it  away,  when  possible,  to  a  stranger,  or 
throw  it  into  the  river.  The  curses  are  of  this  kind — "  That  if 
any  evil  impend  over  them,  the  sacrifices,  or  the  whole  of  Egypt, 
that  it  may  be  laid  on  this  head."  According  to  Jewish  tradi- 
tion, the  high  priest  prayed  thus,  "  O  Lord,  Thy  people  have 
done  amiss,  have  transgressed  and  sinned  in  Thy  sight.  Be 
Thou  propitiated  for  the  misdeeds,  the  transgressions,  the  sins, 
which  Thy  people,  the  house  of  Israel,  have  committed.  As  it 
is  written  in  the  law  of  Thy  servant  Moses,  when  it  is  said.  For 
on  that  day  shall  the  priest,"  etc.,  ver.  30. 

Ver.  22.  Wilderness. — According  to  the  tradition  no  one  might 
at  the  last  be  present  with  the  man.  He  led  the  goat  up  a  steep 
hill,  threw  him  down,  and  before  he  had  reached  half  down  the 
hill,  he   was   broken  in  pieces.     This  superstition  must  have 


LEVITICUS  XVr.  24-29.  413 

arisen  from  tlic  return  of  a  goat  wliicli  had  been  sent  out  into 
the  wilderness. 

Ver.  24.  His  garments. — His  priestly  robes — the  garments  of 
his  office. 

An  atonement. — The  atonement  through  the  burnt-offering 
was  a  peculiar  one,  which  was  not  rendered  superfluous  by  the 
sin-ofi'ering,  since  in  the  burnt- offering  reference  was  not  so  much 
made  to  actual  transgressions  and  their  removal,  as  to  the  entire 
render  and  sacrifice  to  God,  cf.  ch.  i.  introd. 

Yer.  28.  Into  the  camp. — It  is  plain  that  these  two  men  arc  on 
this  account  obliged  to  purify  themselves,  because  the  one  had 
taken  away,  the  other  had  burnt,  the  animal  upon  which  the  sins 
were  laid,  and  which  was  therefore  unclean.  We  find  even  among 
the  heathen  the  same  custom,  that  such  sacrifices  which  were  the 
averters  of  evil  omens  rendered  the  offerer  unclean,  and,  conse- 
quently, he  was  obliged  to  wash  himself.  The  reason  that  the 
high  priest,  by  slaying  the  sin-offering  and  sprinkling  the  blood, 
did  not  render  himself  unclean,  was  this,  that  the  very  stream- 
ing forth  of  the  sin-laden  life  took  away  the  sin,  while  the 
sprinkling  of  blood  was  a  sign  of  death,  having  fully  ensued. 
The  remainder  of  the  animal,  which  no  consecrated  priest  might 
consume  (ch.  vi.  20)  was  burnt  outside  the  camp,  and  there  in 
an  unhallowed  place.  That  the  sprinkling  of  blood  must  take 
place  in  a  holy  place,  was  on  account  of  the  reverence  due  to  the 
sacrifice,  as  generally  in  the  case  of  the  sin-offerings,  both  the 
sanctity  of  the  offering  and  of  the  act  of  sacrifice  (it  is  the 
"  Most  Holy"  (ch.  vi.  29) ;  and  the  unclcanness  of  the  re- 
maining part  arc  at  the  same  time  represented.  Plere,  also,  the 
burning  of  the  fat  must  not  be  omitted  ;  in  order,  by  the  offering 
up  of  the  finest  and  best  part  of  the  victim  purified  from  blood, 
to  betoken  the  renewal  of  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  sinner.  The 
sin-offering  was  made  for  the  people  on  this  great  day,  in  other 
respects,  altogether  according  to  the  directions  given :  ch.  xiv. 
13,  i.e.,  the  flesh  is  not  eaten  by  the  priests,  because  the  blood 
was  taken  into  the  sanctuary.  Since  here  this  higher  degree  of 
atonement  was  both  required,  and  had  actually  taken  place, 
there  was  no  necessity  for  the  sacrifice  to  be  eaten  by  the  j)riests. 

Ver.  29.  AJiict  your  souls. — With  deep  fasting  and  mourning 
were  the  whole  people  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  great  act  by 
which  the  Lord  did  away  all  their  sins.    In  what  tliese  exercises 


414  LEVITICUS  XVI.  31,  32  ;   XVIIT. 

of  humiliation  consisted,  the  law  does  not  further  tell  us.  Tradi- 
tion says,  that  fasting  formed  a  great  part  of  it,  together  with 
abstinence  from  ablution,  anointing,  wearing  of  shoes,  and  con- 
jugal intercourse ;  all  signs  of  mourning,  which  are  mentioned 
elsewhere  (ablution  and  anointing,  2  Sam.  xii.  20,  21  ;  going 
barefoot,  2  Sam.  xv.  30  ;  the  last,  2  Sam.  xi.  11).  But  fasting 
was  regarded  so  much  as  the  main  thing,  that.  Acts  xxvii.  9,  the 
whole  day  is  called  from  it.  Fasting  was  a  religious  practice, 
which  is  met  with  among  all  people.  On  the  great  feast  of  Isis 
at  Busiris,  in  Egypt,  a  fast  preceded  the  most  solemn  sacrifice  ; 
and  it  was  accompanied  by  self-torture  of  other  kinds.  But, 
with  the  heathen,  these  would  represent  symbolically  man's  sym- 
pathy with  suffering  nature,  and  were  therefore  properly  a  sinking 
down  and  yielding  to  the  world ;  whereas,  among  the  Israelites 
the  fasts,  in  conjunction  with  the  general  confession,  were  the 
outward  marks  of  mourning  for  sin ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
through  mortification  of  the  fleshly  lusts,  the  means  of  discipline 
to  direct  the  spirit  with  less  hindrance  to  dwell  on  the  spiritual 
object  of  the  solemnity  :  they  therefore  served  the  purpose  of 
freeing  the  spirit  from  the  service  of  the  flesh  and  the  world. 
This  fast  is  the  only  one  commanded  in  the  law.  In  after  times 
others  were  added,  e.g.,  that  in  remembrance  of  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldees,  and  there  were  other  extraordi- 
nary general  and  private  fast-days.  It  is  a  deficiency  in  every 
religious  community  to  be  without  such  general  days  of  humilia- 
tion. 

Ver.  31.  Sabbath  of  rest.— Jjlt,  "  the  Sabbath  of  sabbaths  :" 
the  feast  of  feasts.  But  this  word  does  not  signify  merely  the 
greatest  Sabbath,  since  it  stands,  Exod.  xxxi.  15,  of  every 
weekly  Sabbath,  in  order  to  express  the  full  religious  rest. 

Ver.  32.  Father^ s  stead. — The  existing  high  priest :  cf  Exod. 
xxix.  7,  note. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

It  was  of  the  greatest  consequence  for  a  people  just  released 
from  heathen  bondage,  like  the  Israelites,  that  it  should  possess 
only  one  centre  of  public  worship — only  one  sacred  place.    There 


LEVITICUS  XVII.  4,  7.  415 

Avas  iiotliing  so  likely  to  promote  the  polytheism  of  Natiire- 
Avorship,  as  that  every  place  should  be  regarded  as  holy,  accord- 
ing to  its  natural  peculiarities,  its  situation,  its  historical  associa- 
tions, the  customs  of  its  inhabitants,  nay,  even  according  to  the 
prevailing  different  notions  of  the  Divine  Being.  By  these 
means  a  multitude  of  deities  would  be  produced.  But,  without 
unity  of  worship,  the  people,  so  long  as  it  was  without  a  king, 
could  not  be  kept  together  as  one  state.  And  so,  in  after  times, 
this  "  sacrificing  on  high  places,"  always  was  the  beginning  of 
apostasy  to  false  worshij)  (cf.  Exod.  xxv.,  introd.).  In  order, 
therefore,  now  to  oppose  effectually  the  tendency  to  this,  it  was 
commanded  that  the  Israelites  should  not  only  not  sacrifice 
animals  without  the  fore-court  of  the  tabernacle,  but  shoidd  not 
kill  animals  for  food  elsewhere.  Hence,  of  every  animal  that 
was  killed,  the  fat  was  to  be  burnt,  the  breast  and  the  shoulder 
given  to  the  priest,  and  the  rest  to  be  eaten  as  a  sacrificial  meal. 
This  law  was  abrogated  before  the  entrance  into  Canaan  (Deut. 
xii.  15,  22),  as  naturally  it  could  not  be  observed  there.  The 
law  is  an  example  for  all  times,  reminding  us  that  all  food  is 
sanctified  to  us  by  thanksgiving  and  prayer :  cf  1  Tim.  iv.  4,  5, 
note. 

Ver.  4.  Inqnited. —  It  shall  be  reckoned  to  him  as  if  he  had 
committed  a  murder. 

Peace- Offerings. — The  thank-offerings  only  are  mentioned, 
because  these  alone  Avere  connected  with  sacrificial  feasts. 

Ver.  7.  Unto  devils. — For  "  devils,"  stands  in  the  Heb.  the 
word  "goats."  Animal  worship  was  spread  throughout  the 
whole  of  Egypt.  As  the  constellations  and  stars  were  very  early 
distinguished  by  the  names  of  animals,  so  was  the  land  as  it 
w^ere  a  symbolic  mirror  of  the  heaven.  Thus,  a  particular  sacred 
animal  was  worshipped  in  every  district.  In  its  peculiar  cha- 
racteristics was  seen  a  form  of  natural  life  ;  and  in  its  bodily  con- 
dition were  represented  the  different  changes  of  nature.  In  a 
north-easterly  district  of  Egypt,  which  was  named  from  the 
town  Mendes,  which  again  had  its  name  from  the  goat-deity 
Mendes,  not  far  from  the  ancient  capital  Tanis,  and  the  land  of 
Goshen,  a  goat  was  worshipped,  and  a  living  animal  of  this  kind 
always  kept  in  the  temple.  The  abominations  connected  m  ith 
this  worship  are  unspeakably  horrible,  but  are  fully  authen- 
ticated ;  and  the  Egyptian  priesthood  held  it  in  such  esteem,  that 


416  LEVITCIUS  XVII.  10,  11. 

every  one  who  aspired  to  the  office  of  priest  must  first  be 
initiated  into  its  mysteries.  Tlie  Israelites  lately  come  out  of 
Egypt,  were  at  that  time  given  to  this  idolatry,  and  practised  it 
secretly  in  the  wilderness.  In  later  times  they  appear  to  have 
connected  with  it  notions  of  goblins,  in  the  form  of  goats,  who 
haunted  the  wilderness,  and  laid  in  wait  for  women  (Isa.  xiii. 
21,  ch. xxxiv.  14) ;  and  hence  the  translation,  "field-devils"  (in 
our  version  "  devils").  Of  the  proneness  of  the  Israelites  to 
Egyptian  idolatry  during  the  passage  through  the  wilderness 
Amos  speaks,  V.  25,26. — The  words,  "with  whom  they  have 
gone  a  whoring,"  means  literally,  "  after  whom  they  go  a  whor- 
ing," or  after  whom  they  run  with  adulterous  desire.  In  the 
words  themselves  there  is  no  reference  to  the  impure  lusts  which 
were  practised  in  that  worship :  cf.  Exod.  xxxi.  15,  note. 

A  statute  for  ever. — The  pith  of  this  statute  was  the  unity  of 
Divine  worship  ;  the  appointment  that  sacrifice  should  be  made 
nowhere  else  except  before  the  tabernacle.  The  mere  external 
part,  on  the  contrary,  was  the  command  to  offer  in  sacrifice  all 
flesh  which  was  killed.  The  latter  command  has  very  little  that 
M'as  burdensome  in  the  wilderness,  where  the  Israelites  lived 
chiefly  on  manna. 

Ver.  10.  Eateth  blood. — This  prohibition  occurred  before  in 
ch.  vii.  26-29.     Here  the  reason  is  more  fully  given. 

Ver.  11.  For  the  soul. — Literally,  "  since  the  blood  atones 
through  the  soul,"  the  soul  which  is  therein  is  the  ransom,  the 
means  of  atonement.  The  meaning  of  these  words  in  conjunc- 
tion with  what  follows  is  this  :  "  The  soul  is  the  seat  of  desire 
and  feeling,  of  pleasure  and  pain,  and  as  such  the  seat  of  sin  in 
the  individual  man,  and  at  the  same  time  the  especial  recipient 
of  the  punishment  of  sin — evil  and  death.  In  the  body  the 
blood  is  the  seat  of  the  soul — it  is  that  which  gives  life  to  the 
body,  and  as  soon  as  it  streams  forth  life  ceases.  The  harmless 
animal  soul  which  lives  in  the  blood  of  the  animal,  God  has  now 
given  in  the  place  of  the  sin-laden  human  soul  to  be  (symboli- 
cally) a  means  of  atonement  for  the  sinner  ;  so  that  when  its  life 
is  poured  out  to  death  in  its  blood,  the  punishment  of  sin  is  re- 
moved from  man.  The  prohibition  of  eating  blood  was  promul- 
gated originally  when  permission  was  given  to  eat  animal  flesh, 
and  was  enforced  as  a  preventive  against  ferocity,  cruelty,  and 
murder  (Gen.  ix.  4,  note).     Now,  on  the  more  perfect  establish- 


LEVITICUS  XVII.  13-16  ;    XVIII.  417 

ment  of  the  service  of  sacrifice,  a  still  deeper  significance  is 
attached  to  the  prohibition.  The  symbol  of  the  channel  of  your 
most  sacred  relation  to  God,  the  most  holy  part  of  your  most 
holy  acts  of  worship,  that  which  the  believing  Israelite  can 
never  regard  without  reverence  and  awe,  may  ye  not  profane  by 
any  common  use. 

Yer.  13.  Cover  it  iviih  dust. — A  hunted  wild  animal  was  to 
bo  killed  on  the  spot,  and  his  blood  poured  out ;  but  even  then 
there  should  remain  a  religious  reverence  towards  its  blood.  It 
was  to  be  covered  with  earth,  that  it  might  not  be  licked  up  by 
any  other  animal.  No  blood  should  be  profaned  where  man 
could  prevent  it. 

Ver.  15.  Eatetli. — Obviously,  unwittingly,  since  a  wilful  sin 
of  the  kind  was  punished  with  death. 

Ver.  16.  Ills  invpiitij. — To  bear  his  iniquitj^,  to  expect  the 
punishment  thereupon.  Here,  as  in  so  many  places  where  the 
(;utting  off  from  the  people  is  threatened,  we  are  not  thereby  to 
understand  any  distinct  judicial  punishment,  but  a  threat  of  a 
Divine  chastisement,  either  that  of  death,  or  of  some  lighter 
kind. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

This  chapter  forms  by  itself  a  complete  whole.  On  the  laws 
concerning  sacrifice  and  symbolical  purifications,  which  conclude 
with  the  ordinance  for  the  full  atonement  on  the  great  day  of 
atonement,  there  follows  a  series  of  commandments  which  again 
appertain  to  the  moral  life.  First,  and  especially,  the  prohibi- 
tion of  incest,  under  which  is  included  both  the  act  without  mar- 
riage as  wx'll  as  with  marriage  ;  since,  although  the  conclusion  of 
the  marriage  is  not  expressly  mentioned  (this  is  done  in  the 
similar  passage,  eh.  xx.  14),  and  the  words  used  about  the  crime 
rather  imply  unchastity,  yet  verses  17  and  19  clearly  prove  that 
only  marriage  can  be  intended,  aiul  those  words  are  purposely 
used  in  order  to  point  out  wherein  lay  the  particular  abomination 
of  such  a  connection.  As  reason  for  the  prohibition  of  these 
marriages  in  a  too  near  relationship,  we  find  nothing  assigned  be- 

2d 


418  LEVITICUS  XVIII. 

yond  this  veiy  degree  of  relationship  itself — "  She  is  thy  flesh — 
thy  mother,  thy  sister" — at  first  in  general  terras,  ver.  6,  and 
then  in  the  particular  instances.  The  meaning  of  the  reason  is 
this — that  by  marriage  the  nearest  relations  of  kinsmanship 
would  be  disturbed.  The  daughter,  the  sister,  cannot  at  the 
same  time  be  dauo-hter  or  sister  and  wife :  and  without  the  strict 
prohibition  of  such  marriage,  the  domestic  life  would  altogether 
forfeit  its  sanctity,  and  be  continually  exposed  to  the  greatest 
danger  of  disorder  through  lust.  The  family  relationship  is  itself 
ordained  by  God.  It  is  the  birth-place  of  the  children  of  God — 
the  first  school,  and  generally  the  source,  of  all  chastity  and  good 
manners.  Any  injury  inflicted  on  it  would  undermine  the  tem- 
poral and  eternal  welfare  both  of  individuals  and  of  the  people. 
In  this  lies  the  abomination  of  incest.  This  is  the  reason  of  that 
natural  horror  of  it  which  God  has  implanted  in  us.  This  is  the 
reason  that,  among  all  nations,  marriage  within  certain  degrees 
was  forbidden,  though  the  laws  of  the  most  moral  nations 
wavered  in  respect  to  the  exact  boundaries.  This  is  the  reason 
that  such  marriages  in  degrees  of  near  relationship  as  cannot  be 
called  exactly  forbidden,  still  excite  in  us  a  feeling  of  aversion. 
Because  this  was  the  reason  of  the  forbidden  degrees,  we  see 
also  why,  in  the  family  of  the  first  men,  when  there  was  as  yet 
no  difference  between  family  and  people,  brothers  and  sisters 
might  marry  without  sin  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  history  of 
Abraham  seems  to  show  that  his  marriage  with  his  half-sister 
must  have  had  something  very  strange  in  the  eyes  of  the  Canaan- 
ites  and  Egyptians,  who  were  yet  at  that  time  very  corrupt,  and, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  the  portion  of  Scripture  before  us, 
in  later  times  practised  these  very  abominations.  And  even 
Isaac,  by  giving  out  that  Rebecca  was  his  sister,  wished  to  make 
it  incredible  that  she  could  be  his  wife  (Gen.  xxvi.  7). — In  these 
commandments,  also,  we  must  distinguish  between  the  essential 
and  non-essential.  It  cannot  be  proved  that  their  literal  accep- 
tance is  binding  on  Christians.  But  since  the  forbidden  degrees 
can  by  no  means  be  far  extended,  and  in  the  settlement  of  them 
a  tender  regard  should  always  be  paid  to  the  sanctity  of  relation- 
ship, and  since  there  is  no  especial  reference  to  the  people  and 
the  time  when  they  were  given, — for  these  causes  every  Chris- 
tian legislature  acts  wisely  in  keeping  closely  to  these  commands, 
and  in  not  permitting  a  departure  from  them. 


LEVITICUS  XVIII.  4-6.  419 

Ver.  4.  TJie  Lord  your  God. — The  permission  of  marriage  in 
near  relationship,  which  occurs  among  the  heathen  nations, 
usually  stands  in  close  connection  with  the  teaching  of  their 
religion,  which  mentioned  (though,  for  the  most  part,  under 
the  veil  of  figurative  lanfruace)  deeds  of  this  kind  of  their 
gods.  Philo  Judieus,  who  lived  in  Egypt  in  the  time  of  our 
Saviour,  says,  concerning  the  prohibition  of  marriage  with  a 
sister :  "  Solon  of  Athens  permitted  marriage  between  half- 
brothers  and  sisters  of  the  same  father  only,  but  not  among  those 
of  the  same  mother :  the  Lacedcemonian  lawgiver  just  the  re- 
verse. The  Egyptians,  on  the  other  hand,  overstepping  the 
scrupulousness  of  the  two,  went  further  in  licentiousness,  and 
permitted  all  brothers  and  sisters  to  marry,  both  the  half  and 
those  who  were  related  on  both  sides — and  not  merely  the 
younger  ones,  but  those  of  the  same  age,  and  older ;  nay,  often 
even  twins,  whom  nature  from  their  birth  had  severed,  were  by  li- 
centious lust  brought  into  an  ill-sorted  union,  a  jarring  harmony '' 
(de  leg.  spec.  p.  780).  Diodorus  expressly  maintains  (i.  27), 
"  The  Egyptians  gave  this  law  against  the  general  custom  of  na- 
tions, because  Isis  had  been  so  fortunate  in  this."  The  Lord, 
therefore,  particularly  reminds  His  people  that  they  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  idolatrous  worship  of  Egypt,  and  therewith  takes 
from  them  the  o;round  on  which  these  immoral  customs  were 
built.  > 

Ver.  5.  Live  in  them. — Shall  be  blessed  in  this  world,  and  in 
the  world  to  come.  The  keeping  of  the  commandments  is 
nothing  else  than  the  truly  divine,  and  therefore  blessed  life. 
But  it  is  not  here  said  that  a  man  is  able  to  become  blessed  by 
observance  of  the  commandments. 

Ver.  G.  Near  of  kin. — Literally,  "  no  one  shall  apjn'oach  to 
any  flesh  of  his  flesh."  The  repeated  word  "  flesh,"  are  in 
the  Hebrew  two  separate  but  synonymous  expressions  (schecr 
basar),  which  are  intended  to  betoken  the  fleshy  union,  as  Gen. 
ii.  23.  Men  stand  in  relation  to  "their  flesh"  in  the  divinely 
appointed  connection  of  father,  brother,  etc.,  which  they  may 
not  tread  under  foot.  The  general  prohibition  is  first  given,  and 
then  is  more  particularly  mentioned  what  is  to  be  esteemed  as 
"  his  flesh." 

To  uncover. — The  connection  of  the  nearest  relations  with  one 
another  is  derived  from  birth ;  and  therefore  the  whole  province 


420  LEVITICUS  XVIII.  7-11. 

of  the  sexual  relations  among  them  is  to  be  esteemed  sacred. 
They  are  to  keep  far  away  from  it,  otherwise  they  trench  on  the 
family  sanctuary,  the  common  ground  of  union. 

Ver.  7.  She  is  tliy  mother. — "  And  she  would  cease  to  be  so 
by  this  thy  abomination  :  thou  wouldest  thereby  destroy  the 
sacred  relationship."  For  this  reason,  the  unwitting  crime  of 
^Edipus  appeared  such  a  monstrous  thing  even  to  the  Greeks, 
that  the  mother  thought  she  must  atone  for  it  by  death,  the  son, 
by  the  loss  of  his  eyes.  He  thus  declared  himself  unworthy 
any  longer  to  behold  the  temples  of  the  gods.  In  these  prohibi- 
tions the  man  is  continually  addressed  with  "  Thou :"  the  mar- 
riage of  the  daughter  with  the  father  is  not  therefore  here  for- 
bidden  ;  but  this  is  regarded  as  something  so  utterly  horrible 
that  it  is  not  mentioned,  as  it  did  not  occur  even  among  the 
Canaanites  and  Egyptians.  "  The  father's  nakedness  "  is  that  of 
the  mother,  who  belongs  to  the  father. 

Ver.  8.  Fathers  icife. — Therefore,  after  the  death  of  the 
father,  the  step-mother  was  not  to  be  married,  because  she  was 
one  with  the  father ;  and  even  after  death  the  parental  relation- 
ship is  not  destroyed. 

Ver.  9.  Daughter  of  thy  father. — Half-sister  by  father  or  mother. 
It  is  remarkable,  that  here  the  very  kind  of  marriage  is  forbidden 
in  whicli  Abraliam  lived  with  Sarah  (according  to  Gen.  xx.  12). 
Here  is  one  more  proof  how,  from  the  mere  silence  of  Holy 
Scripture  in  respect  to  an  action,  we  are  by  no  means  to  infer 
its  approbation  of  it :  cf.  Gen.  xlix.  4,  note. 

Born  at  home ;  i.e.,  born  of  a  wife  with  whom  thy  father  lives 
at  home,  or  of  one  with  whom  he  cohabits  away  from  home. 
Relationship  from  a  wife  or  concubine  shall  equally  hinder  the 
union. 

Ver.  11.  Her  nakedness. — It  would  be  surprising  if  the  pro- 
hibition to  marry  the  half-sister  from  one  father,  which  is  already 
expressed  in  ver.  9,  were  repeated  here.  We  must  then  sup- 
pose that  this  marriage — the  marriage  of  Abraham  and  Sarah — 
required  a  double  and  altogether  unmistakeable  prohibition. 
But  even  then  it  would  be  strange  that  ver.  10,  containing 
another  command,  should  intervene.  It  is,  therefore,  more  cor- 
rectly supposed  that  the  words  are  thus  to  be  connected  :  "  Thou 
shalt  not  uncover  the  shame  of  the  daughter  of  the  wife  of  thy 
father  (she  is  the  child  of  thy  father,  and  is  thy  sister)."     Then, 


LEVITICUS  XVIII.  14,  IG.  421 

the  properly  so-called  step-sister  (comprlvegna)  would  be  meant, 
and  the  marriage  between  children  brought  up  together  be  for- 
bidden. This  may  be  well  imagined,  in  consideration  of  the 
strong  prominence  given  in  the  JSIosaic  law  to  the  paternal  dig- 
nity and  authority,  so  that  the  child  of  his  wife  was  fully  re- 
garded as  his  own  child ;  and  therefore  the  marriage  of  his 
child  with  this  child  would  be  forbidden. — Although,  on  account 
of  the  less  degree  of  reverence  paid  to  paternal  authority  among 
us,  the  law  may  not  in  the  letter  be  binding  on  us,  still  this  pro- 
hibition represents  such  marriages  as  very  objectionable. 

Ver.  14.  Thine  aunt. — From  these  three  prohibitions  the  ques- 
tion has  arisen,  Avhether  thej^  were  to  be  extended  to  cases  of  re- 
lationship on  another  side,  which  in  point  of  nearness  are  equal ; 
and  so,  not  only  whether  marriage  with  paternal  and  maternal 
aunt  was  forbidden,  and  with  the  widow  of  the  mother's  brother, 
but  likewise  with  the  brother  and  sister's  daughter,  and  the 
widow  of  the  nephew,  as  well  as  of  the  mothers  brother.  Doubt- 
less the  prohibition  is  not  to  be  extended  to  these  cases.  The 
reverence  felt  towards  the  father's  sister  was  the  cause  that  she 
was  regarded  as  more  nearly  related  to  the  nephew  than,  on  the 
other  side,  the  niece  with  the  father's  or  mother's  brother;  and 
traces  of  the  same  view  of  relationship  are  found  among  the 
Arabs.  The  same  holds  good  of  the  nephew's  widow.  But  the 
brother  of  the  mother  did  not  belong  any  more  to  the  family :  his 
widow  stood  much  farther  than  that  of  the  father's  brother.  The 
question,  whether  such  marriages  are  allowable  among  us,  must 
be  settled  much  less  from  the  letter  than  from  the  spirit  of  this 
law.  The  decision  will  be  directed  according  to  the  opinion, 
whether  among  us  the  relationship  between  uncle  and  niece  is 
equally  near  with  that  between  aunt  and  nephew.  In  this,  as 
in  other  cases,  the  prohibition  may  properly  be  extended  beyond 
the  letter  of  the  Mosaic  law,  as  the  Christian  Church  has  every- 
where done  in  this  respect. 

Ver.  16.  Brother^s  loife. — The  law  declares  this  marriao-e  as 
not  permitted,  but  does  not  pronounce  it  to  be  incest.  The 
punishment  therefore  of  barrenness  was  only  threatened  ao-ainst 
it  (ch.  XX.  21).  It  is  evident  that  it  was  regarded  not  as  in 
itself  sinful,  but  as  inexpedient,  from  the  fact,  that  the  so-called 
Levirat  marriage  (cf.  Gen.  xxxviii.,  introd.),  which  was  in  exist- 
ence from  very  old  times,  is  expressly  confirmed  in  tlie  law : 


422  LEVITICUS  XVIII.  18-21. 

Deut.  xxi.  10-14.  As,  however,  the  reasons  for  the  Levlrat 
marriage  no  longer  exist  with  us,  it  may  be  more  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  of  the  Divine  law  to  forbid  marriage  with  a  sister- 
in-law,  as  is  done,  for  example,  in  England. 

Ver.  18.  Vex  her. — Heb.,  "  in  addition  to  her,"  besides  her. 
The  meaning  is  by  no  means  that  the  sister  can  permit  it.  Here 
also  a  marriage  is  forbidden  in  which  the  patriarch  Jacob  lived ; 
but  his  history  shows  clearly  the  soundness  of  the  law  while 
polygamy  still  existed.  If  there  are  more  wives  than  one,  which 
is  always  the  cause  of  jealousy  and  contention  among  them,  it  is 
better  that  the  two  or  more  should  be  taken  from  different  fami- 
lies than  that  they  should  be  nearly  related.  This,  however,  is 
only  a  sound  by-reason,  not  the  main  reason  of  the  law.  This 
consisted  in  the  fact,  that  as  man  and  wife  are  to  be  regarded  as 
one,  the  sister  of  the  wife  is  to  be  esteemed  the  sister  of  the 
husband.  This  brotherly  relationship  ought  to  be  regarded  as 
holy  and  inviolable,  like  the  case  with  the  brother's  widow. 

Ver.  19.  Uncleanness. — Ch.  xx.  18.  The  punishment  of 
being  cut  off"  from  the  people  is  threatened.  The  reason  was  no 
sanitary  police  one ;  but  consisted  in  the  position  of  the  law  to 
this  condition,  of  which  mention  has  been  made,  ch.  xii.,  introd. 

Ver.  20.  Defile. — The  punishment  of  adultery,  see  ch.  xx.  10. 

Ver.  21.  Molech. — Molech  (king)  was  an  idol  of  the  Ammon- 
ites and  the  Phoenicians  likewise,  which  was  also  worshipped 
under  the  name  Malkam  or  Milkom.  Children  were  offered  to  it 
in  fire  as  sacrifices.  The  Rabbins  pretend  it  was  a  brazen 
figure,  hollow  within,  with  the  head  of  a  bull  and  outstretched 
arms,  in  which  image  a  fire  was  kindled.  The  O.  T.  knows  no- 
thing of  this.  That  the  children  were  really  burnt  to  Molech  is 
quite  clear  from  many  passages  (Jer.  vii.  31,  ch.  xix.  5 ;  Ps.  cvi. 
37).  Molech  appears  to  have  been  the  same  with  the  planet 
Saturn,  which,  according  to  Amos  v.  20,  the  Israelites  worship- 
ped in  the  wilderness.  The  object  of  burning  their  children  was 
not  the  purification  of  their  souls,  but  in  order  to  make  the 
greatest  atonement,  and,  by  the  offering  of  what  was  dearest,  to 
avert  harm.  The  surrender  of  the  first-born  to  the  Lord  has 
some  similarity  to  this  notion  (Exod.  xiii.  1),  only  that  in  the 
offering  of  the  first-born  the  abomination  of  human  sacrifice  is 
abolished.  The  worship  of  Molech  is  here  not  so  much  for- 
bidden as  human  sacrifice,  which  was  in  defiance  of  the  doctrine 


LEVITICUS  XVIII.  22,  30  ;   XIX.  5-14.  423 

of  man  being  made  in  the  Divine  image  (of.  Gen.xxii.  1).  This 
is  evident  from  Deut.  xviii.  5,  where  no  mention  is  made  of 
JNIolecl),  and  from  the  above-quoted  words  of  Jeremiah.  For  the 
punishment  of  this  crime,  see  ch.  xx.  2—5. 

Ver.  22.  Abomination. — The  crime  of  the  Sodomites  (Gen. 
xix.)  was  very  frequent  among  the  Canaanites,  and  even  prac- 
tised in  their  idolatrous  worship,  as  in  the  temples  of  Astoreth 
there  were  men  appointed  for  the  pui'pose  :  Deut.  xxiii.  17  ; 
1  Kings  xiv.  24.  The  crime  also  mentioned  in  the  next  verse 
was  practised  in  Egypt  in  their  idol-worship. 

Ver.  30.  /  am  the  Lord  your  God. — This  general  warning 
and  threatening  applies  to  the  incest,  adulter}^,  unnatural  sins, 
and  the  human  sacrifices  which  are  mentioned  in  the  foregoing. 
The  mention  of  human  sacrifice  occurs  in  the  midst  of  completely 
sexual  sins,  on  account  of  its  unnatural  and  detestable  character, 
since  here  the  sacrifice  of  children  by  their  parents  {tliy  seed)  is 
spoken  of.  Such  a  crime  was  a  violation  of  God's  holy  ordi- 
nance in  respect  to  fjimilies,  just  as  much  as  Mere  the  other 
abominations  mentioned  in  this  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

The  beginning  and  the  end  of  this  chapter  shows  that  it  forms 
a  consistent  whole.  Scarcely  any  division  can  be  found  in  it. 
It  gives  particular  laws  more  in  full,  others  already  given  are 
merely  repeated,  and  much  that  is  new  is  added.  It  contains 
particular  statutes,  as  they  were  required  for  the  settlement  of 
difficult  cases,  or  when  tlie  inroad  of  some  evil  custom  was 
observed. 

Ver.  5.  At  your  oicn  icill ;  i.e.,  that  ye  may  thereby  be  Avell- 
plcasing  to  God. 

Ver.  8.  Cut  of.— Ch.  vii.  16. 

Ver.  14.  The  Lord. — These  are  commands,  suggested  by  par- 
ticular cases,  which  afl^brd  a  sort  of  reflex  of  the  general  charac- 
ter. Every  kind  of  advantage  taken  over  innocent  helplessness, 
in  order  to  injure  another,  or  for  one's  own  benefit,  is  hereby 


424  LEVITICUS  XIX.  17,  19. 

forbidden.  The  addition,  "  shalt  fear  thy  God,"  points  out  that 
He  it  is  who  has  made  the  deaf  and  the  blind,  and  who  can 
j)unish  every  sinner  in  a  like  manner.  In  the  latter  point  of  view, 
this  prohibition  brings  toom'  minds  what  is  said  St  Luke  xiii.  1. 

Ver.  17.  Sin  ujyon  Mm. — Upon  this  also  is  founded  a  saying 
of  Christ,  St  Matt,  xviii.  15-17.  No  one  is  to  bear  a  secret 
oTudffe  ao-ainst  his  neiohbour,  but  to  tell  him  of  his  sin  ;  other- 
wise  he  has  part  in  it; — a  prohibition  which  is  particularly  appli- 
cable to  communities  which  stand  in  close  relationship  to  each 
other. 

Ver.  19.  A  gm^ment  mingled. — This  latter  is,  literally,  "  a  gar- 
ment of  twofold  (Schaatnes)  may  not  come  on  thee,"  which  is 
explained,  Deut.  xxii.  11,  by  "woollen  and  linen  together." 
What  kind  of  stuff  is  meant  is  uncertain. — These  three  prohibi- 
tions, which  are  here  placed  together,  all  clearly  rest  on  the  same 
ground,  and  are  not  enjoined  for  the  mere  sake  of  utility. 
Nature,  as  God  has  created  it,  was  to  be  held  in  reverence  by  the 
Israelite,  and  he  was  not  to  deal  artificially  with  it,  or  introduce 
confusion  into  its  different  species.  But  as  all  natural  things 
were  to  be  to  him  a  type  of  spiritual  relations,  there  was  con- 
tained in  this  prohibition  a  forbidding  likewise  of  everything 
contrary  to  nature  in  man  himself, — all  misuse  of  the  limbs 
bestowed  on  him  by  God,  or  of  His  creation,  to  any  other  pur- 
pose than  that  ordained  by  God  Himself.  The  Jewish  doctors 
remark  thereon  :  "  Whoever  causes  cattle  of  different  kinds  to 
gendei",  he  acts  as  if  God  had  not  created  all  that  is  necessary, 
but  as  if  he  must  bring  forth  new  creatures,  and  so  help  Him  in 
the  creation  of  the  world.  He  who  mingles  different  kinds,  fal- 
sifies the  impress  on  the  king's  money."  Philo  Judteus  says, 
"  He  exhorts  men  from  a  distance,  as  from  a  watch-tower,  to  be 
chaste,  that  men  and  women,  learning  this  beforehand,  may  re- 
strain themselves  from  forbidden  intercourse."  The  addition  of 
the  law  respecting  garments  to  that  about  beasts  and  plants,  re- 
minds us  of  the  house  and  clothes  leprosy,  which,  as  an  image  of 
sin,  is  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  the  human  disease. 
In  clothing,  everything  needlessly  artificial  is  to  be  avoided ;  and 
by  the  simplicity  of  the  material  is  reverence  to  God's  creation  to 
be  evinced.  The  same  holds  good  of  this  prohibition  as  of  other 
similar  symbolical  commands — of  the  unclean  animals,  of  the  un- 
cleanness  contracted  through  natural  and  bodily  conditions, — the 


LEVITICUS  XIX.  20-23.  425 

outward  command  is  to  lead  to  the  feeling  of  heart-purification. 
When  this  exists,  the  commandment  in  the  letter  becomes  super- 
fluous. The  Apostle  Paul  sees  in  this  prohibition  a  type  of  a 
spiritual  evil,  namely,  that  of  believers  having  fellowship  with 
unbelievers  (2  Cor.  vi.  14).  Yet  his  earnest  remark  upon  it  is 
only  a  typical  application,  and  not  an  interpretation,  of  this 
prohibition. 

Ver.  20.  Because  site  loas  not  free. — The  meaning  is  :  In  the 
case  of  slaves,  with  whom  a  regular  marriage  cannot  take  place, 
a  punishment  still  shall  be  inflicted  on  the  woman's  sin,  and  on 
his  who  has  committed  it  with  lior,  when  she  has  lived  in  a  con- 
dition similar  to  marriage.  In  this  respect  also  the  Mosaic  law 
is  distinguished  from  the  most  moral  law  of  the  ancient  Avorld, 
the  lloman,  which  had  no  punishment  for  such  an  offence.  The 
reason  of  the  slighter  degree  of  punishment  for  the  adultery  con- 
sists in  the  looser  character  of  the  union  which  the  relation  of 
slave  entailed,  while  in  the  punishment  itself  it  is  indicated  that 
the  union  is  a  true  marriage. — "Not  at  all  redeemed,  nor  free- 
dom given  her,"  refers  to  the  twofold  mode  of  gaining  freedom — 
by  purchase,  or  by  manumission  without  payment.  The  first 
was  made  from  the  property  of  the  slave,  or  by  another  person. 
The  punishment  is  not  expressed.  According  to  tradition,  it 
was  to  be  scourging  inflicted  on  both  parties.  (She  shall  be 
scourged,  is  not  in  Luther's  version,  but  "  she  shall  be  punished." 
— Translator.) 

Ver.  22.  Forrjiven  him. — Cf.  the  introd.,  ch.  v.,  on  trespass- 
offering.  As  the  proper  punishment  appointed  for  adultery  was 
death,  which  in  this  case  was  not  inflicted  on  account  of  the 
adulteress  being  a  slave,  there  was  the  more  need  of  a  solenni 
confession  that  the  holy  law  of  God  had  been  broken,  and  must 
be  restored  by  doing  away  the  offence  ;  hence  the  "  ram  of  the 
trespass-offering." 

Ver.  25.  The  Lord  your  God. — The  design  of  this  law  is  alto- 
gether similar  to  ver.  19.  The  people  of  Israel  was  to  have 
in  nature  everywhere  a  mirror  of  God's  moral  governance, 
and  a  guide  to  Ilim.  As  every  child  from  his  birth  was  unclean, 
until  by  the  covenant  of  circumcision  he  was  given  to  God  and 
sanctified,  so  are  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth  to  be  regarded  as  \\n- 
clean  until  they  have  been  sanctified.  Moreover,  as  nothing 
small,  unripe,  imperfect,  might  be  sacrificed  to  the  Lord,  the  full 


426  LEVITICUS  XIX.  2G-28. 

perfection  of  the  fruit  in  the  fourth  year  was  to  be  waited  for 
before  the  consecration  followed.  If  the  fruit  was  not  eaten  for 
three  years,  the  blossoms  might  be  broken  off,  and  thereby  in 
the  following  year  greater  fruitfulness  produced.  This,  however, 
was  certainly  not  the  reason  of  the  law,  but  a  gracious  conse- 
quence of  it. — "  By  this  religious  use  was  that  pointed  oUt  which 
St  Paul,  1  Tim.  iv.  5,  says, — '  Everything  is  sanctified  by  God's 
word  and  by  prayer.'  Not  as  though  anything  were  in  itself 
unclean,  but  because  through  man's  sin  the  earth  had  as  it  w^ere 
become  defiled,  and  thus,  in  respect  to  us,  its  innocent  fruits  are 
regarded  as  contaminated  with  the  uncleanness  of  uncircumcision. 
And  therefore  it  is  said,  that  for  the  same  reason  they  them- 
selves are  sanctified  to  God,  must  the  fruits  also  of  the  tree  become 
clean." — Calvin. 

Ver.  26.  With  the  blood. — The  prohibition,  already  often  given, 
is  perhaps  here  repeated  because,  likewise,  nothing  was  to  be 
eaten  "  with  blood  "  in  it — added  to  it :   ch.  xvii.  10-12. 

Use  enchantments. — Heb.:  "Ye  shall  not  predict  from  serpents 
and  clouds."  Serpents  were  esteemed  in  Syria  and  Egypt  sacred 
animals,  and  were  kept  and  observed  for  the  purpose  of  sooth- 
saying. As  this,  however,  was  not  very  frequent,  the  two  words 
had  perhaps  a  cognate,  more  general  signification  :  "  Ye  shall 
not  whisper  enchantments,  or  practise  secret  arts  of  divination." 

Ver.  27.  Bound. — Lit. :  "  Ye  shall  not  go  round  the  extreme 
part  of  your  head  in  a  circle;"  i.e.,  ye  shall  not  shave  the  ex- 
tremity of  your  head  in  a  circle.  As  this  appears  to  have  been 
a  prevalent  custom  among  the  ancient  Arabians  in  honour  of  the 
god  whom  the  Greeks  called  Dionysius. 

Beard. — Lit. :  "  Nor  cut  off  the  extremity  of  your  beard  " — 
the  whiskers. — This  prohibition  had  the  same  reason — to  forbid 
a  superstitious  custom. 

Ver.  28.  For  the  dead. — Lit. :  "  Ye  shall  not  make  a  cutting  in 
your  flesh  for  a  dead  person,  nor  a  writing  (or  engraving)  of 
burning  on  yoii," — not  burn  in  your  flesh  any  marks  or  letters. 
Incisions,  as  marks  of  grief,  signify  that  in  the  blood  which  flows 
a  kind  of  sacrifice  for  the  dead  is  made.  This  prohibition,  then, 
is  of  the  same  kind  as  that  respecting  human  sacrifices.  It  is 
well  known  how  prevalent  to  this  day  is  the  custom  of  tatooing 
among  heathen  nations  in  connection  with  superstition  of  every 
kind.     The  prohibition  appears  similar  to  that,  ver.  19  ;  and  the 


LEVITICUS  XIX.  29-35.  427 

moaning  and  object  to  liave  been,  besides  the  prevention  of  su- 
perstition, to  inspire  likewise  a  reverence  for  God's  creation.  It 
is  remarkable  that  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  among  whom  the  art 
of  tatooing  had  arrived  at  great  perfection,  after  their  conversion 
to  Christianity,  would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  this  custom. 

Ver.  29.  Wickedness. — Lit.:  "Thou  shalt  not  profane  thy 
daughter  to  whoredom,"  in  order  that  the  land  may  not  follow 
the  example.  Perhaps  here  an  allusion  might  be  made  to  pros- 
titution in  honour  of  some  deity.  Then  would  the  word  "  pro- 
fane" be  purposely  used,  becavise  the  expression  for  such  a 
woman  of  the  temple  was  "  the  consecrated."  But  we  may  sup- 
pose that  acts  of  this  kind  took  place,  without  open  idolatry,  to 
excuse  the  sin  and  greed  of  gain.     Cf.  Num.  xxv.  introd. 

Ver.  31.  Familiar  spirits. — The  necromancers.  Such  was  the 
witch  of  Endor,  1  Sam.  xxviii. 

Your  God. — All  these  could  know  future  events  only  through 
God,  Avho  had  revealed  nothing  thereof  to  them ;  consequently 
their  soothsaying  was  a  Nature-worship,  an  act  of  apostasy  from 
the  true  God. 

Ver.  32.  Rise  np. — Although  there  were  no  differences  of  rank 
among  the  Israelites,  except  the  distinction  of  priests  and  people, 
still  the  heads  of  the  tribe  enjoyed  an  hereditary  dignity.  It 
was  the  more  necessary,  as  a  counterbalance  to  this,  to  put 
the  general  reverence  to  be  paid  to  age,  which  the  Lord  Himself 
had  invested  with  its  honour.  The  same  custom  existed  in 
Eg^ypt. 

Ver.  34.  As  thyself. — Here  is  the  love  to  their  neighbour  ex- 
pressly extended  to  strangers.  Even  in  the  first  laAvgiving  of 
covenant  was  there  a  similar  commandment,  Exod.  xxii.  21 ; 
cf.  Deut.  X.  18,  19,  and  below,  ch.  xxiv.  18,  note. 

Ver.  35.  In  measure. — Unjust  judgment  is  put  on  an  equality 
with  unjust  measure,  as  a  similar  comparison,  in  a  saying  of 
Christ's,  shows  :  "  With  what  measure  ye  mete  it  shall  be  mea- 
sured to  you  again:"  St  Matt.  vii.  2. 


428  LEVITICUS  XX,  5-]  3. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

The  commandments  of  this  chapter  are,  likewise,  not  arranged 
in  order.  However,  here  especially  grievous  offences  against 
God  and  heinous  carnal  sins  are  put  together  as  an  especial 
abomination  in  His  sight,  and  the  particular  punishment  assigned, 
which  in  the  earlier  mention  of  many  of  them  was  not  added. 

Ver.  5.  Cut  him  off. — This  place  clearly  shows  what  is  signi- 
fied by  the  expression,  which  so  often  occurs,  of  "cutting  off  from 
the  people."  First,  the  ordinary  punishment  of  stoning  is  fixed  ; 
but,  as  the  crime  was  hardly  conceivable  without  a  widely-spread 
apostasy,  the  threat  of  being  cut  off"  by  God  is  added.  The 
person  to  be  cut  off  had  fallen  under  the  judgment  of  Divine 
punishment,  Mdiich,  sooner  or  later,  by  an  especial  guidance  of  the 
people  of  God,  must  overtake  him.  Meanwhile,  he  was  declared 
outlawed.  Everyone  could  execute  the  judicial  punishment  threat- 
ened against  him,  if  the  magistracy  neglected  their  duty ;  cf.  Gen. 
xvii.  14,  note.     Upon  the  crime  itself,  see  ch.  xviii.  21,  note. 

Ver.  6.  Familiar  spirits. — The  connection  with  them  was  in 
every  case  joined  with  idolatry:  ch.  xix.  26,  28,  note. 

Ver.  9.  Upon  him ;  i.e.,  May  the  guilt  of  his  death  fall  upon 
him,  as  ver.  11. 

Ver.  10.  Committeth  adultery. — Lit.:  "And  the  man  who  com- 
mitteth  adultery  with  the  wife  of  a  man,  who  committeth  adul- 
tery with  the  wife  of  his  neighbour,  they  shall  both  die  the 
death,  the  adulterer  and  the  adulteress."  The  repetition  is  not 
intended  to  suppose  a  fresh  case  (for  then  must  the  word  "  and" 
interpose),  but  to  enforce  still  further  the  heinousness  of  the 
act.  He  commits  against  his  neighbour  an  act  which,  committed 
against  himself,  he  would  never  endure. 

Ver.  13.  Shall  be  ujwn  them. — Ch.  xviii.  22.  According  to 
Roman  law,  any  one  who  had  compelled  another  to  the  crime, 
was  (if  this  person  were  a  freeman)  punished  with  death.  He 
who  was  a  party  to  the  crime  lost  the  half  of  his  property  and 
the  right  of  making  a  will.  In  the  Mosaic  law,  the  chief  view 
was  directed  to  purity  and  sanctity  :  in  the  heathen  law,  the  pre- 
vailinir  consideration  was  social  honour. 


LEVITICUS  XX.  14-27;   XXI.  429 

Ver.  14.  Wickedness  amour/  you. — Ch.  xviii.  17.  A  sin  not 
nncommon,  even  among  us,  for  a  man  to  undergo  a  sham  mar- 
riage witli  the  mother,  but  really  to  cohabit  with  the  daughter. 

Ver.  IG.  Upon  tliein. — Cf.  ch.  xviii.  23.  Punishment  was 
also  figuratively  to  be  inflicted  on  the  beast  which  had  been  con- 
taminated by  the  man's  sin  :  cf.  Exod.  xxi.  28.  That  this  was 
the  meaning,  and  not  merely  to  produce  a  greater  abhorrence  of 
the  crime,  is  clear  from  the  expression,  "  their  blood  shall  be 
upon  them." 

Ver.  17.  His  iniquity. — Ch.  xviii.  9,  note. 

Ver.  18.  Among  tJieir  people. — Ch.  xviii.  19. 

Ver.  19.  Their  iniquity. — The  expression  is  here  more  in- 
definite than  in  the  form,  "  shall  be  cut  off  from  among  his 
people."  God  threatens  to  them  punishment  in  general,  which 
they  had  cause  to  dread  even  when  the  magistrate  neglected  his 
duty.     He  might  punish  him  as  he  chose,  only  not  with  death. 

Ver  20.  Childless. — "  What  does  this  mean,  since  children 
have  been  born  from  such  lanions  in  earlier  times,  and  are  still 
born  ?  Is  it  at  all  determined  by  God's  law,  that  they  who 
come  of  such  a  marriage  shall  not  be  esteemed  as  children, — i.e., 
shall  not  inherit  the  rights  of  their  parents  ?" — St  Aug.  So  a 
king  is  called  childless  who  yet  had  children,  but  none  who  suc- 
ceeded him  on  the  throne  :  Jer.  xxii.  30.  However,  it  seems 
more  probable,  that  here  a  Divine  curse  was  to  be  pronounced, 
which  justified  the  judge  in  inflicting  such  a  punishment :  so  also 
ver.  20. 

Ver.  21.  Unclean  thing. — The  Hebrew  expression  is,  "  it  is  an 
uncleanness."  The  punishment  also  is  less,  as  this  marriage  was 
even  commanded  in  the  case  of  a  childless  brother's  widow. 

Ver.  27.  Upon  them.— Ch.  xix.  20,  31. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

As  the  whole  people — in  bodily  purity,  in  the  avoiding  of  all 
pollution,  in  the  sexual  relations,  or  through  touching  the  dead — 
were  continually  reminded  of  sin  and  exhorted  to  inward  holi- 
ness ;  so  was  the  })riestly  order,  and  among  them  the  high  priest, 


430  LEVITICUS  XXI.  4-7. 

to  be  distinguished  from  all  tlie  people  by  higher  requirements, 
to  a  more  perfect  separation  from  all  that  was  defiling,  either 
actually  or  figuratively,  and  also  by  outward  faultlessness. 
Even  his  kinsmen  were  not  to  stand  nearer  to  him  than  his 
sacred  ofiice.  The  requirement  of  bodily  cleanness  from  the 
priest  was  not  simply  out  of  a  sense  of  propriety,  but  contained 
likewise,  as  in  the  case  of  the  sacrifices,  a  deeper  symbolical 
meaning.  There  was  to  be  nothing  of  a  bodily  kind  in  the  ser- 
vants of  the  Lord,  which,  by  its  unseemliness,  could  remind 
them  of  the  kingdom  of  sin,  from  which  all  evil,  as  well  as  death, 
had  its  origin. 

Ver.  4.  Profane  himself. — Heb. :  "  He  shall  not  pollute  him- 
self as  housemaster  (head  of  a  family)  in  his  people."  "  His 
people"  are  his  relations,  as  in  the  well-known  form  of  speech, 
"  to  be  gathered  to  his  people.''  Among  the  heathen  also,  the 
priests  were  not  permitted  to  pollute  themselves,  either  by 
touching  the  dead,  or  by  taking  part  in  their  interment,  or  by 
mourning. 

Ver.  5.  Cuttings  in  their  flesli. — A  strong  growth  of  hair  is  a 
sign  of  physical  power.  The  case  of  Samson  (Judges  xvi.  22), 
as  well  as  of  the  Nazarite  vow,  may  occur  to  our  thoughts 
(Num.  vi.).  In  mourning,  it  was  usual  to  shave  the  head  and 
the  beard  (Isa.  xv.  2  ;  Jer.  vii.  29).  Herodotus  mentions  (B. 
2,  36),  as  a  peculiarity  among  the  Egyptians,  that  "  in  other 
parts  the  priests  of  the  gods  wear  their  hair  long,  but  in  Egypt 
they  shave.  Among  all  other  people  it  is  customary  in  mourning 
for  the  near  relations  to  shave  their  heads  :  on  the  contrary,  in 
Egypt,  in  cases  of  death,  they  suflfer  the  hair  to  grow  both  on 
their  heads  and  chins,  although  at  other  times  they  go  shaven." 

Ver.  6.  The  bread. — By  this  are  to  be  understood  not  merely 
the  shew-bread  (Exod.  xxv.),  but  all  offerings.  They  are  called 
bread,  food,  ch.  iii.  11.  In  order  to  place  before  the  Holy  One 
that  which  rejoices  His  heart,  they  themselves  (the  priests)  must 
not  be  defiled  with  any  heathen  superstition. 

Ilohj. — Lit.,  "  let  them  be  holy," — as  it  were  a  sanctuary, 
M'holly  belonging  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  7.  Holy  unto  his  God, — With  respect  to  their  marriage, 
the  priests,  and  among  them  the  high  priest,  were  to  observe 
the  highest  degree  of  purity.  To  a  harlot  (a  public  person),  and 
to   a  profane  (a  fallen  woman),  there  always  clings  a  moral 


LEVITICUS  XXI.  9-23.  431 

Stain ;  and,  although  slic  may  really  have  amended  her  life,  still 
it  is,  at  least,  not  so  certain  but  that  suspicion  often  again  might 
arise.  The  divorced  Avoman  may  be  unjustly  left  by  her  hus- 
band (cf.  Deut.  xxiv.  1,  note);  still,  as  cases  of  that  kind  were 
not  inquired  into,  the  man  had  the  supposition  of  a  right  sepa- 
ration on  his  side ;  and  the  priest  ought  not  to  contract  such  a 
marriage,  which,  to  say  tlie  least,  was  open  to  suspicion. 

Ver.  9.  Profane  herself. — Ileb.,  "  profane  herself  to  play  the 
whore."  The  daughter  of  the  priest  partook  likewise  in  tlie 
holiness  of  her  father.  Every  kind  of  harlotry  is  to  be  under- 
stood under  this,  and  not  merely  that  which  was  open,  for 
money. 

Bmmt  loithflre. — According  to  Jewish  tradition,  the  body  w^as 
first  strangled,  and  then  burnt ;  and  the  participator  in  the  crime 
was  also  strangled. 

Ver.  10.  Among  his  brethren. — Lit.:  "The  priest  who  is 
great  {i.e.,  greatest)  among  his  brethren."  This  is  not  a  par- 
ticular title,  "high"  or  "great"  priest.  This  title  was  derived 
in  later  times  from  this  place. 

Rend  his  clothes. — The  context  teaches,  that  this  was  merely 
forbidden  him  as  a  sign  of  mourning.  Caiaphas  therefore  (St 
Matt.  xxvi.  G5),  did  not  break  this  commandment. 

Ver.  12.  Go  out. — In  order  to  attend  on  mourning.  Cf.  on  the 
whole,  ch.'x.  G,  7,  note. 

Croum. — The  golden  crown,  Exod.  xxviii.  30.  There  it  was 
said  how  this  band,  with  the  inscription,  "  holiness  of  the  Lord," 
was  designed  to  remove  all  unholiness  from  the  sacred  acts  of 
the  Israelites.  As  God's  representative  among  the  people,  must 
the  priest  stand  apart  from  all  earthly  engagements. 

Ver.  14.  A  loidoxc — The  high  priest  was  distinguished  from 
the  others  in  this  respect,  that  he  might  not  marry  a  widow, 
because  there  was  at  least  the  possibility  of  greater  sexual  un- 
cleanness  in  such  a  marriage. 

Ver.  18.  Flat  nose. — With  a  short  nose. 

Ver.  20.  Ilatli  a  blemish. — The  reason  of  these  commands  is 
the  same  as  in  respect  to  the  offering  up  of  perfectly  sound  animals. 
This  perfcctness  was  an  emblem  of  iuAvard  sanctity,  and  so  a 
type  of  the  "  undefiled"  High  Priest,  Ileb.  vii.  2(). 

Ver.  23.  Unto  the  veil — namely,  if  he  is  high  priest.  At 
eating  of  the  sacrifices,  it  was  not  necessary  to  appear  in  the 


432  LEVITICUS  XXII.  7,  13. 

Divine  presence  at  the  altar,  or  in  the  sanctuary.  As  a  man 
afflicted  with  the  above-mentioned  defects  is  not  suitable  to  the 
service  of  a  king,  to  appear  in  his  presence,  but  yet  elsewhere 
may  be  useful ;  so,  in  like  manner,  this  personal  defectiveness, 
as  symbol  of  inward  deficiency,  excluded  from  all  service  which 
was  to  offer  atonement  for  men  to  God,  and  to  apply  His 
favour  to  them. 


CHAPTER  XXH. 

In  this  chapter,  former  commandments  are  in  part  repeated, 
but  more  definitely  and  fully.  The  first  part  is  a  general  warn- 
ing against  touching  any  of  the  holy  things  while  in  a  state  of 
tmcleanness  ;  and  then  proceeds  further  to  declare  which  among 
the  household  of  the  priest  may  eat  of  that  which  is  holy, — not 
of  the  most  holy.  This  was  reserved  for  the  priests  them- 
selves :  cf.  ch.  vi.  18. 

Ver.  7.  Shall  he  clean. — From  this  it  is  evident  that  the  ex- 
planation of  St  John  xviii.  28  is  incorrect,  which  supposes  that 
it  means  that  the  Pharisees  feared  they  should  be  excluded,  as 
unclean,  from  eating  of  the  paschal  lamb,  which  was  to  be  eaten 
after  sunset,  if  they  entered  the  judgment-hall. 

His  food. — This  food  is  intended  for  his  maintenance.  Here 
also  the  rule  holds  good  :  "The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and 
not  man  for  the  Sabbath." 

Ver.  13.  No  stranger. — The  whole  house  of  the  priest  was 
sanctified  through  him  ;  but  in  this  sanctification  was  also  to 
remain  separate  from  all  strangers. — To  the  rules  respecting 
freedom  from  blemish  on  the  part  of  the  priests,  is  annexed  the 
instruction  respecting  the  perfection  of  the  sacrifices.  As, 
figuratively,  the  animal  who  had  done  no  sin  atoned  for  the 
sinner,  and  the  costly  gift  of  the  burnt  and  thank-offering  was 
meant  to  represent  the  offering  of  the  noblest  and  best  which 
man  has — his  soul,  created  after  God's  image, — in  like  manner 
must  the  sacrifices  represent  by  their  external  perfectness  the 
same  thought.  They  were  so  far  types  of  Him  "  who,  through 
the  Eternal  Spirit,  offered  Himself  without  spot  to  God:"  Heb. 
ix.  14.     This  perfectness  was  to  be  on  two  sides :  partly,  they 


LEVITICUS  XXII.  in-2S.  433 

were  not  to  be  too  young  or  too  old,  but  in  their  full  natural 
vigour ;  and,  next,  there  must  be  no  blemish  in  them.  So  like- 
wise were  they  a  type  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  who  entered  on 
the  path  of  self-sacrifice  in  the  vigour  of  His  manhood,  and  with- 
out blemish  of  body  or  of  mind. 

Ver.  19.  Of  the  goats. — The  sacrifices  were  therefore  to  be 
made  of  the  animals  on  which  depended  the  whole  outward 
existence  of  the  people — of  the  most  valuable,  clean,  domestic 
animals.  Of  these,  male  animals  were  to  be  offered,  as  the 
stronger  and  the  more  perfect,  with  the  exception  of  the  thank- 
offering,  ch.  iii.  1.  The  reason  of  this  exception  not  being  men- 
tioned here  is,  because  the  thank-offering  did  not  belong  to  the 
most  holy,  to  the  peculiar  and  most  important  sacrifices. 

Ver.  22.  Broken. — If  it  has  any  broken  limb. 

Ver.  23.  Superfluous. — Heb. :  "  Too  long  or  too  short  limbs." 

Accepted. — The  "  free-will  offerings  "  were  less  than  the  "vow- 
offerings,"  because  these  latter  rested  on  a  covenant  existing  be- 
tween the  Lord  and  man.  No  other  defect  than  this  only  was 
allowed  in  the  least  kind  of  offerings.  Moreover,  all  these 
blemishes  are  mentioned  by  way  of  example,  as  is  clear  from 
this,  that,  Deut.  xv.  21,  lameness  is  added. 

Ver.  24.  Cut, — These  are  expressions  for  the  different  kinds 
of  mutilation  known  to  the  ancients. 

/7i  your  land. — These  words  might  be  understood  of  the  sacri- 
ficing these  animals,  but  then  it  would  be  a  mere  repetition  of 
the  foregoing.  The  Jewish  tradition,  therefore,  more  correctly 
understands  it  as  a  general  prohibition  to  mutilate  animals.  The 
reason  of  this  prohibition  is  not  the  more  sure  prevention  of  like 
acts  towards  men,  but  (as  the  comparison  of  this  passage  with 
such  as  ch.  xix.  9  shows)  in  order  more  vividly  to  impress  on 
men's  minds  a  reverence  for  the  creation  of  God,  which  man  is 
indeed  to  be  lord  over,  but  which  he  may  not  wilfully  alter  or 
disarrange.  This  prohibition,  then,  has  especially  a  symbolic 
significance,  like  that  about  behaving  in  this  way  towards  men : 
cf.  Deut.  xxiii.  1. 

Ver.  27.  Accepted. — The  reason,  no  doubt,  is,  because  then  it 
begins  to  be  eatable ;  but  the  command  is  given,  not  for  the  sake 
of  its  really  being  eaten,  but  figuratively. 

Ver.  28.  One  day. — The  old  Chaldee  Paraphrase  makes  here 
the  following  addition : — "  My  people,  as  your  Father  in  heaven 

'  2  E 


434  LEVITICUS  XXII.  30  ;    XXIIT. 

is  nierciftil,  so  be  ye  also  merciful  on  earth'.  A  cow  and  a  sheep 
shall  ye  not  kill  on  one  clay  with  its  young."  It  is  parallel  to  the 
prohibition  Deut.  xxii.  6.  There  is  an  indication  in  this,  that 
as  God  preserves  the  different  species  in  creation,  man  may  not 
exterminate  them,  but  use  them  for  the  service  of  God,  and  for 
his  own  advantage.  One  step  to  such  extermination  would  be 
this  way  of  killing  the  mother  and  her  young,  if  the  practice 
became  general. 

Ver.  30.   On  the  same  day. — As  the  most  holy  of  the  thank- 
offerings :  cf.  ch.  vii.  15. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

The  law  now  once  more  places  the  feast-days  of  the  whole 
year  together,  and,  indeed,  after  a  short  repetition  of  the  institu- 
tion of  the  weekly  Sabbath,  in  the  order  of  time.  The  holy  sea- 
sons of  the  Israelites  consisted  of  a  fifty  year  Sabbath  cycle,  and 
in  a  yearly  cycle  of  feasts.  The  number  seven,  as  the  number 
of  the  covenant,  ran  through  the  whole  Sabbath  cycle ;  it  was 
closely  connected  with  the  week,  the  origin  of  which  (as  all 
divisions  of  time  followed  the  changes  of  the  moon)  rested  on  the 
quarters  of  the  moon.  This  natural  division,  which  was  common 
to  the  Israelites  with  most  ancient  people,  was,  however,  sancti- 
fied to  them  by  a  higher  thought,  to  which  it  served  as  the  ground- 
work. The  seventh  day  of  the  week,  the  first  of  the  seventh 
month,  the  seventh  and  the  seven  times  seventh  year,  were 
sacred  seasons,  because  the  Lord  rested  on  the  Sabbath  day 
after  He  had  finished  the  work  of  creation.  The  remembrance 
of  the  Eternal  One,  who  is  raised  above  all  change,  and  who, 
after  the  completion  of  the  work  of  creation,  rejoiced  therein 
that  all  was  very  good,  this  was  to  lead  man  up  to  his  own 
origin  from  God  by  the  cessation  from  all  Avork.  As  the  bodily 
refreshment  restored  his  physical  energies,  so  should  the  con- 
sciousness of  union  with  the  Almighty  and  the  Eternal  restore 
the  true  life  to  his  soul.  In  the  order  of  months,  this  holy  rest  of 
refreshment  to  body  and  soul  was  not  celebrated  to  the  full. 
Israel  was  not  to  rest  the  whole  month,  but  on  the  first  of  the 
seventh  month  trumpets  were  blown ;  it  was  the  Sabbath  of  the 


LEVITICUS  XXIII.  435 

blowing  of  trnmpetR,  ■wlilcli,  as  it  appears,  was  intended  to  pro- 
claim this  month  solemnly  as  that  of  reconciliation  and  reunion 
with  God — of  return  to  Ilim.  In  this  month  fell  the  day  of 
deepest  humiliation,  the  day  of  atonement,  and  the  feast  of 
greatest  joy,  the  feast  of  tabernacles.  The  Sabbath  of  the 
seventh  year,  and  of  the  seven  times  seventh  year,  was  closely 
connected,  in  ever-widening  circles,  with  the  weekly  and  monthly 
Sabbath.  These  arc  mentioned,  ch.  xxv. — The  three  feasts  re- 
ferred especially  to  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  wheat  harvest 
— to  the  vintage,  the  oil  and  fruit  harvests.  Their  groundwork 
was  a  natural  one ;  only  that  the  Israelites  did  not,  as  the  heathen, 
hold  feasts  in  honour  of  the  course  of  Nature,  as  their  deity;  they 
did  not  enslave  themselves  to  its  changes,  and  become  intoxicated 
with  joy  or  overcome  with  grief  on  account  of  the  variation  of 
the  seasons,  but,  regarding  them  as  the  gifts  of  creation  on  which 
their  temporal  being  depended,  they  reverenced  God  with 
thank-offerings.  But,  besides  this  sign,  by  which  they  solemnly 
declared  that  they  owed  their  senses  and  their  being  to  God, 
there  was  a  still  higher  meaning  of  the  festivals  as  memorials  of 
the  historical  revelations  of  God,  for  the  redemption,  preserva- 
tion, and  blessing  of  His  people.  The  first  was  a  memento  of 
Israel's  election  to  be  a  people,  by  means  of  their  preservation 
from  the  destroying  angel,  and  escape  from  Egypt ;  the  second 
feast  was  closely  connected  as  harvest  feast  with  the  first,  and  was 
a  memorial  (at  least  according  to  later  tradition)  of  the  Divine 
blessing,  whereby  the  preservation  from  Egypt  received  its  ac- 
complishment— the  lawgiving  on  Sinai ;  the  third  was,  according 
to  its  natural  position,  the  main  harvest  feast.  It  celebrated  the 
conclusion  of  the  gathering  in  of  all  fruits,  as  well  of  the  barn  as 
of  the  wine-press  (Deut.  xvi.  13).  At  the  same  time  it  repre- 
sented, as  an  historical  national  feast,  what  Israel  as  the  people 
of  the  Lord  had  become,  under  His  gviidance — on  the  one  side, 
the  journey  through  the  wilderness,  with  God's  wonderful  leading 
of  the  people — on  the  other  hand,  the  joy  of  receiving  the  promise 
in  the  fulness  of  the  "  land  flowing  wdtli  milk  and  honev."  But 
for  this  feast  the  day  was  preparatory,  which  itself  rested  on  no 
historical  event — the  day  celebrated  a  little  before,  the  great  day 
of  resting,  and  fasting,  and  repentance,  and  atonement.  Only 
when  the  people  were  fully  released  from  their  sins  were  they 
allowed  to  rejoice  in  their  continued  guidance  by  the  Lord — the 


43(j  LEVITICUS  xxiir.  3-21. 

type  of  guidance  from  earthly  necessities  to  heavenly  rest. 
Thus,  in  all  these  feasts  is  the  Lord  praised  as  the  Giver  of  all 
earthly  gifts,  the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Euler  of  His  children 
of  the  covenant.  While  the  cycle  of  Sabbaths  raised  the  mind 
from  the  constant  change  of  time  above  all  earthly  affairs  to  the 
Eternal,  Unchangeable  Creator,  and  was  intended  as  a  foretaste 
of  eternal  rest,  in  like  manner  the  cycle  of  feasts  brought  the 
mind  into  the  midst  of  the  revelations  of  the  Creator  of  the  world, 
both  in  nature  and  in  the  history  of  His  covenant  people. 

Ver.  3.  Sabbath  of  rest. — Lit.,  "  the  Sabbath  of  Sabbaths ;" 
which  in  this  position  merely  serves  to  add  to  the  force  of  the 
meaning,  "  the  entire  full  Sabbatli." 

Ver.  4.  Ilolif  convocations. — Heb. :  "  These  are  the  appointed 
times  of  the  Lord"  ("  appointed  time" — Moed,  the  same  word  as 
is  used  of  the  "  appointed  assembly,"  the  tabernacle  [cf.  Exod. 
xxvii.  21,  note]),  "  holy  convocations,  which  ye  shall  call  at  their 
appointed  times."  The  first  word,  "  appointed  time,"  has  the  par- 
ticular meaning  "  feast-time  ;"  the  second  the  original. 

Ver.  8.  N'o  servile  work. — The  paschal  festival  has  already 
been  spoken  of  more  in  full,  Exod.  xii.  Here  mention  is  again 
made  of  it  only  on  account  of  its  connection  with  the  subject  in 
hand.  The  offerings  which  are  to  be  made  during  the  eight 
days'  feast  are  described  Num.  xxviii.  16,  etc. 

Ver.  11.  After  the  Sabbath. — For  the  meaning  of  the  waving, 
see  ch.  vii.  34,  note.  By  the  Sabbath  we  are  here  to  understand 
the  feast  Sabbath,  the  first  feast-day  :  Exod.  xii.  16. 

Ver.  14.  Parched  corn. — Cf.  ch.  ii.  14,  note. 

Your  dwellings. — The  natural  relation  of  the  paschal  festival 
is  subordinate  to  that  which  results  from  the  history  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.  For  the  meaning  of  the  offering  of  the  first-fruits, 
see  ch.  ii.  10,  note. 

Ver.  21.  Yoicr  generations. — This  feast  is  elsewhere  called 
"  the  feast  of  weeks,"  Exod.  xxxiv.  22.  The  Hebrew  word  for 
week  is  "  Septenary,"  a  time  reckoned  after  the  number  seven. 
Since  the  whole  festival  has  its  name  from  "  week,"  the  whole 
time  from  Easter  to  Whitsunday,  as  a  time  determined  by  the 
number  seven,  is  denoted  as  a  week  of  weeks.  By  this  division 
the  harvest-time  was  to  be  represented  as  a  week,  and  the  harvest 
festival  as  the  great  harvest  Sabbath.  The  whole  festival  con- 
sisted, therefore,  only  of  one  feast-day  as  the  concluding  Sabbath 


LEVITICUS  XXIII.  22-40.  437 

of  tliis  great  week.  As  on  the  paschal  feast  the  beginninfr,  so 
on  the  feast  of  weeks  was  the  end,  of  the  harvest  sanctified  :  the 
former  with  the  offering  of  a  sheaf,  as  a  sign  that  the  harvest  was 
begun  ;  the  latter  with  the  offering  of  two  loaves,  as  a  sign  that 
it  was  completed. 

Ver.  22.  The  Lord  your  God.~Ct  ch.  xix.  9.  This  is  here 
repeated,  in  order  to  show  whereby  the  festival  may  be  well- 
pleasing  in  God's  sight. 

Ver.  24.  Bloioing  of  trumpets. — The  blowing  of  trumpets 
served  to  announce  the  great  festivals,  and  to  call  together  the 
people.  So  had  the  giving  of  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai  been 
announced,  Exod.  xix.  19,  etc.  The  same  took  place  on  the 
anointing  of  the  kings,  1  Kings  i.  34 ;  and  on  the  assembling 
of  the  army,  Isa.  xviii.  3.  The  feasts  of  these  months  were  the 
conclusion  and  crown  of  the  yearly  feasts.  As  the  Sabbath  was 
the  conclusion  of  the  week,  so  were  these  feasts  of  the  yearly 
cycle.  Therefore  the  blowing  of  trumpets  was  a  "  memorial,"  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  people  to  this  great  season,  as  "  memo- 
rial'' often  signifies  a  reminding  sign.  So,  e.g.,  the  stones  of 
memorial  on  the  shoulders  of  the  ephod,  Exod.  xxviii.  12,  cf. 
Exod.  xiii.  9. 

Ver.  32.  Your  Sabbath. — This  festival  has  been  spoken  of 
more  fully,  ch.  xvi. 

Ver.  38.  Give  unto  the  Lord. — Which  is  here  added,  in  order 
to  remind  the  people  that  no  one  can  sufficiently  honour  God  by 
private  acts  of  worship. 

Ver.  40.  Seven  days. — The  customs  of  this  festival  were  espe- 
cially joyous,  and  in  later  times  there  were  constant  additions  to 
them  :  cf.  St  John  vii.  37,  note;  ch.  viii.  12,  note.  The  taber- 
nacles were  in  after  times  erected  on  the  flat  roofs,  in  coiuts, 
streets,  and  squares.  Boughs  of  beautiful  trees — probably  fruit- 
trees,  with  fine  fruits  on  them — j)alm-trees,  and  especially 
branches  of  the  leafy  willow,  were  taken  for  the  purpose ;  but 
not,  as  the  later  Jews  misunderstood  this  place,  carried  in  the 
hands  of  the  feasters.  By  leaving  their  ordinary  dwellings  and 
pitching  tents,  they  transported  themselves  as  it  were  into  the 
wandering  life  of  the  wilderness,  while  the  fulness  of  the  beauti- 
ful foliage  and  of  the  fruits  symbolised  the  blessings  of  the  pro- 
mised land.  Although  it  was  a  general  harvest  feast,  yet  more 
particularly  the   conclusion  of  the  vintage  and  of  the  oil  harvest 


438  LEVITICUS  XXIV.  4-11. 

was  celebrated,  as  these  productions  more  especially  typified  the 
richness  of  the  country.  In  later  times  the  customs  of  drawing 
water  and  of  lighting  lamps  were  naturally  and  significantly 
added  to  the  rest — all  emblems  of  the  grace  and  goodness  which 
the  people  enjoyed  under  the  guidance  of  the  Lord,  and  at  the 
same  time,  as  festive  rites,  pledges  of  the  continuance  of  His 
guidance  and  blessing  of  the  people  on  the  way  to  the  promised 
rest,  of  which  Canaan  was  only  the  type  :  cf.  Heb.  iv.  1-9.  In 
no  other  festival  were  the  natural  and  historical  relations  so 
closely  allied  to  one  another. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

Ver.  4.  Pure  candlestick. — That  which  was  made  of  pure  gold. 
The  same  word  used  of  the  table,  ver.  6. 

Ver.  9.  Perpetual  statute. — The  shew-bread  was  laid  before 
the  Lord  during  the  week,  and  eaten  on  the  Sabbath  day  by 
the  priests,  because  the  loaves  were  meant  to  represent,  as  food 
well-pleasing  to  God,  the  vs^hole  life  of  the  people,  the  day-work 
of  the  same,  which  corresponded  to  the  day-work  of  the  creation 
of  God.  The  eating  by  the  priests  near  the  altar  of  incense 
denoted  its  acceptableness  in  God's  sight,  answering  to  the  joy 
of  the  Sabbath  after  the  completion  of  the  creation. 

Ver.  11.  Cursed. — In  the  Heb.  "  the  name"  merely  stands,  in 
order,  in  the  case  of  this  crime,  to  evince  a  greater  reverence  of 
God's  name  by  silence.  It  lies  in  the  very  essence  of  a  Nature- 
religion,  which  is  at  the  same  time  idolatry,  that  it  should  enter 
in  the  war  of  oppositions  Avhich  is  being  carried  on  in  nature, 
and  therefore  at  times  can  blaspheme  the  same  gods  whom  at 
other  times  it  honours,  since  all  the  while  the  attribute  of  holi- 
ness is  wanting  to  these  deities.  We  know,  indeed,  that  a  blas- 
pheming of  the  gods  took  place  at  certain  sacred  customs  in 
Egypt.  So  Menelaus,  in  Homer,  when  his  sword  broke  in  the 
critical  moment,  says,  "  Father  Jove,  none  of  the  gods  is  more 
hurtful  than  thou." — Iliad,  B.  iii.  365.  The  occasion  of  this 
blasphemy  very  likely  was  such  as  the  Jewish  interpreters  give 
— that  this  man  had  been  refused  permission  to  pitch  his  tent 


LEVITICUS  XXIV.  14-22  ;    XXV.  430 

among  the  tribe  of  Dan,  and  his  complaint  had  been  rejected  by 
Moses'  decision. 

Ver.  14.  Upon  Ids  head. — By  this  act  they  declared  solemnly 
tliat  the  crime  and  the  uncleanness  should  fall  only  on  the 
oftender.  The  idea  here  prevails,  which  has  been  more  fully 
discussed  chap,  v.,  introd.,  that  by  such  a  heinous  offence  the 
ordinance  of  God  has  itself  been  violated ;  and  so,  in  a  certain 
degree,  guilt  is  incurred  by  the  people  as  a  whole,  from  which 
they  designed  to  free  themselves  by  this  laying  on  of  hands. 
The  custom  of  laying  on  of  hands  in  the  case  of  sacrifices  is  thus 
more  clearly  explained. 

Ver.  IG.  Put  to  death. — The  word  which  here  occurs,  and  is 
translated  "  blaspheme,"  signifies  also  "  to  pronounce  clearly  ;" 
and  thus  the  later  Jews  have  found  in  this  passage  the  command, 
that  no  one  might  utter  the  name  Jehovah  (or  Jahve).  It  is, 
however,  altogether  improbable,  that  at  any  time  the  punish- 
ment of  death  would  have  been  inflicted  for  the  merely  pro- 
nouncing the  name  of  the  Lord ;  which,  moreover,  is  contra- 
dicted by  the  whole  of  this  history,  but  especially  by  such  songs 
as  that,  ch.  xv.  (Exod.).  The  stranger  among  the  Israelites 
})artook  in  many  privileges  of  the  people  of  God ;  he  enjoyed, 
in  general,  not  only  a  mild  treatment,  but  celebrated  the  Sab- 
bath and  the  feasts  A\ith  the  people.  On  this  account  no  dif- 
ference ought  to  take  place  in  relation  to  crimes  betwixt  him 
and  a  born  Israelite. 

Ver.  22.  Lord  your  God. — This  last  sentence  is  the  reason 
why  those  laws  which  are  mentioned  before  (Exod.  xxi.  12,  23, 
etc.)  are  here  repeated.  In  respect  to  murder,  as  to  every  other 
injury,  the  stranger  is  to  stand  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
born  Israelite. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

To  the  weekly  Sabbath  and  the  Sabbath  of  months  (cf.  ch. 
xxiii.,  introd.)  was  added  the  Sabbath  of  years.  This  had  also, 
as  all  the  feasts,  a  natural  groundwork.  As  man  is  to  rest  one 
day  each  week,  in  order  to  raise  himself  above  the  changes  of 
earth  to  the  Eternal,  Unchangeable  Creator;  but  as  this  higher 


440  LB VI  nous  xxv.  5,  ;. 

meaning  of  the  Sabbath  was  supplemental  to  the  natural  require- 
ment of  rest  after  work,  in  like  manner  was  one  year  of  cessation 
after  six  years  of  cultivation  a  necessity  to  the  land.  With  this, 
however,  was  the  higher  thought  connected,  that  the  land  also, 
by  means  of  this  rest,  should  do  homage  to  its  Lord  and  Creator  ; 
and  the  people  acknowledge  that,  in  its  natural  relation,  it  be- 
longed to  the  Creator  of  all  things.  But,  as  the  weekly  Sab- 
bath was  especially  destined  for  the  refreshment  of  men-servants 
and  maid-servants,  in  like  manner  the  produce  of  the  unculti- 
vated fields  during  the  year  of  jubilee  served  for  the  refreshment 
of  the  poor  :  it  represented  in  figure  the  all-embracing  love  of 
God,  which  levels  all  differences,  and  which  belongs  to  all  His 
children, — which  love  men  were  required  to  imitate. 

Ver.  5.  Undressed. — Lit.,  "of  thy  Nazarites."  The  unpruned 
vines  were  so  called,  because  the  Nazarites  did  not  shave  their 
hair  during  the  time  of  their  vow  (Num.  vi.). 

Ver.  7.  Be  meat. — The  apparent  impracticability  of  this  com- 
mand, which  at  least  after  the  return  from  Babylon  was  exactly 
observed,  appears  lessened  by  the  fact,  that  where  this  rule  was 
introduced,  scarcity  was  provided  against  by  the  previous  accu- 
mulation of  provisions,  and  the  rest  from  field  labour  could  be 
employed  in  other  necessary  work.  Still,  however,  such  possible 
advantages  are  by  no  means  the  reason  for  this  command. 
The  year  of  jubilee — the  year  of  the  restoration  of  the  order  of 
things  appointed  by  God — formed  the  close  of  the  cycle  of  Sab- 
baths. This  year  also  was  to  be  a  sabbatical  year,  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  ordinance  just  now  described ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  it  had  this  one  thing  peculiar  to  itself,  that  the  original 
division  of  property  was  restored,  and  thereby  especially  the  ser- 
vant who  through  poverty  was  unable  to  regain  his  liberty, 
returned  into  his  possession.  As  the  weekly  Sabbath  and  the 
Sabbath  of  years  was  intended  to  raise  men  from  the  change- 
ableness  of  earthly  affairs  and  events  to  the  life  in  eternity,  by 
restoring  through  rest. strength  to  man  and  to  the  land,  in  like 
manner  the  year  of  jubilee  was  designed  to  raise  the  whole 
people,  in  respect  to  their  rights  and  possessions,  from  the  change- 
ableness  of  outward  circumstances  to  the  unchangeableness  of 
the  Divine  appointment, — to  produce  an  equality  in  the  distinc- 
tions of  life, — to  make  men  conscious  of  their  common  dependence 
on  the  Lord,  and  of  the  freedom  of  all  men.     As  in  the  case  of 


LEVITICUS  XXV.  8,  10.  441 

tlio  otlier  Sabbaths,  this,  however,  took  place  rather  figuratively 
than  actually.  ISIuch  remained  still  probably  unaccomplished  of 
this  law.  But  by  its  very  deficiency  it  predicted  (as  did  the 
other  types  of  the  O.  T.)  the  future  perfect  remission  of  debts, 
and  restoration  of  all  Divine  appointments,  in  the  eternal  rest  of 
the  people  of  God. 

Ver.  8.  Forty  and  nine  years. — The  question  arises,  Whether 
by  this  is  meant  the  seventh  sabbatical  year,  or  the  year  follow- 
ing it ;  or,  in  other  words,  whether  the  forty-ninth  or  the  fiftieth 
is  intended  ?  Some  have  tried  to  solve  this  question  by  saying 
that  the  forty-ninth  was  also  the  fiftieth  year,  since  the  Israelites 
reckoned  both  by  the  lunar  and  the  solar  year,  and  in  this  period 
of  the  fiftieth  year  the  difference  between  the  two  was  settled. 
However,  no  traces  of  such  double  reckoning  are  found;  but 
rather  the  rule  of  the  division  of  time  seems  to  have  been  this : 
the  year  consisted  of  twelve  lunar  months,  which  began  with  the 
new  moon ;  but  they  were  so  far  bound  to  the  course  of  the  sun 
by  the  regulation  that  the  year  should  begin  with  the  harvest 
month  (according  to  Exod.  xii.  2),  and  on  the  full  moon  of 
the  same,  the  15th,  the  Passover  should  be  celebrated  with  offer- 
ing of  the  first-fruits  of  barley.  The  Israelites  were  thereby 
under  the  necessity  of  intercalating ;  the  new  moon  being  chosen 
as  the  beoinnino;  of  the  harvest  month,  on  the  full  moon  of  which 
the  barley  harvest  was  to  commence.  It  is  unknown  how  soon 
this  rule  of  intercalation  was  formed.  Accordingly,  the  lunar 
year  was  the  groundwork  of  these  years,  which  was  only  here 
and  there  made  to  square  with  the  solar  year.  Thus,  then, 
forty-nine  years  are  the  time  of  the  great  sabbatical  period  ;  and 
the  name,  "the  fiftieth  year,"  occurs  for  this  cause,  that  the 
last  jubilee  year  from  which  the  reckoning  began  was  counted 
in,  just  as  it  is  said,  Christ  rose  again  on  the  third  day ;  and 
thus  the  number  seven  is  not  violated,  and  the  unnatural  sup- 
position is  needless,  that  by  this  regulation  two  years  of  rest 
followed  each  otlier.  How  ver.  21  is  to  be  made  agree  with 
this,  see  below. 

Ver.  10.  Inhabitants  thereof. — Heb. :  "  And  ye  shall  call  out 
(proclaim)  freedom  to  all  who  dwell  in  the  land." 

Jubilee. — Lit.,  "  shall  be  Jobel  to  you."  This  name  of  the 
year  came  from  the  jubilee-trum])cts,  so  called  from  a  sound 
they  made  like  the   word  Jobel.     The  trumpets  on  this  day 


442  LEVITICUS  XXV.  12-30. 

(figuratively)   summoned  the  whole  people  solemnly  together, 
that  they  might  be  restored  by  the  Lord  Himself. 

Ver.  12.  Out  of  the  field. — The  command  from  ver.  4  is  here 
repeated,  and  nothing  new  appointed.  This  repetition  takes 
place,  in  order  more  expressly  to  place  the  year  of  jubilee  on  a 
level  with  the  others. 

Ver.  13.  Unto  his  ■possession. — Therefore  all  property  of  land 
returned  to  its  original  possessor,  without  paying  back  the 
jDurchase-money.  In  all  states  of  antiquity  which  had  in  view 
the  close  fellowship  of  all  the  citizens,  we  find  laws  which  were 
designed  either  to  preserve  the  equality,  or  from  time  to  time  to 
restore  it.  Among  a  people  which  was  to  be  regarded  as  God's 
peculiar  possession — all  its  members  as  His  servants — it  was  so 
much  the  more  necessary,  from  time  to  time,  to  bring  about  such 
a  reinstatement  of  condition.  The  prospect  of  it  woidd  from  the 
first  help  to  preserve  equality. 

Ver.  15.  Sell  unto  thee. — No  sale  generally  of  the  property 
itself  took  place,  but  only  of  the  harvests,  and  a  renting  of  the 
land  for  a  number  of  years  reckoned  beforehand. 

Ver.  22.  Of  the  old  store. — As  in  the  seventh  year  they  were 
prohibited  not  merely  reaping,  but  sowing,  the  sixth  year  (which 
began  with  the  month  Abib,  the  end  of  JNIarch  or  beginning  of 
April)  was  obliged  to  provide  first  for  itself,  next  for  the  sab- 
batical year,  and  lastly  for  the  year  after  the  sabbatical  year. 
In  case  of  general  faithfulness  to  the  covenant  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  this  w^ould  have  been  the  regular  course ;  but,  besides 
this,  the  Israelites  were  frugal  and  industrious,  and  by  economy 
provided  against  the  danger  of  famine. 

Ver.  24.  Redemption. — The  possibility  of  purchase  before  the 
jubilee  year.  To  provide  against  all  mixture  of  the  tribes,  per- 
mission was  to  be  given  to  every  one  to  purchase  back  his  land 
within  the  period  between  the  jubilees. 

Ver.  27.  Possession. — The  fruits  which  the  buyer  has  already 
received  are  deducted ;  the  rest,  which  the  buyer  would  have 
obtained  up  to  the  year  of  jubilee,  is  paid  him. 

Ver.  30.  In  the  jubilee. — The  whole  Israelitish  commonwealth 
was  founded  on  agriculture  ;  and  in  the  case  of  landed  property, 
which  was  of  the  most  consequence,  no  changes  were  allowed. 
But  it  was  different  in  respect  to  property  in  towns,  in  which  at 
that  time  no  distinct  usufruct  could  be  purchased.     To  insist  on 


LEVITICUS  XXV.  36-53  ;   XXVI.  443 

their  return  into  the  orio-inal  hands  in  the  year  of  jubilee,  wouhl 
have  needlessly  obstructed  intercourse.  Here,  then,  simple  re- 
purchase took  place. 

Ver.  3G.  Usury. — On  the  prohibition  of  usury,  sec  Exod. 
xxii.  25,  note. 

Ver.  43.  With  rigour. — In  respect  to  persons  the  same  prin- 
ciple held  good  as  in  reference  to  land.  It  was  not  so  much 
slavery,  as  an  agreement  of  service  of  every  kind  for  a  number 
of  years.  That  the  slave  might  not  be  obhged  to  serve  beyond 
this  time  through  poverty,  he  received  then  back  his  property  in 
land. 

Ver.  53. — It  is  surprising  that  in  all  these  regulations  respect- 
ing the  manumission  of  the  Israelite  bondmen  in  the  year  of 
jubilee,  no  mention  is  made  of  their  being  free  in  the  seventh 
year,  of  which  it  is  spoken  in  the  giving  of  the  laws  of  the  cove- 
nant (Exod.  xxi.  2,  etc.).  But  the  one  does  not  exclude  the 
other.  It  was  the  right  of  every  bondman,  after  six  years  of 
service,  to  be  free  on  the  seventh ;  but  as  he  did  not  then  receive 
back  his  inheritance,  he  might  very  likely  prefer  the  state  of 
servitude,  and  wait  for  the  fiftieth  year.  In  every  case,  the 
promise  of  being  free  in  the  fiftieth  year  was  only  of  conse- 
quence to  those  who  wore  near  this  term,  since  the  prospect  of 
fifty  years'  servitude  would  take  away  all  value  from  the  hope  of 
freedom.  This  whole  chapter  has  therefore  in  view  those  slaves 
who,  in  the  fiftieth  year,  had  not  yet  served  their  six  years,  or 
who,  on  account  of  poverty,  had  prolonged  their  time  of  servitude 
after  the  lapse  of  the  six  years. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

We  have  here  arrived  at  the  conclusion  of  the  lawgiving  on 
Sinai,  since  that  which  follows  in  the  next  chapter  is  the  re- 
demption of  particular  things.  This  book,  like  the  book  of  the 
lawgiving  of  the  covenant,  concludes  with  solenui  pi'omises, 
threatenings,  and  warnings,  which  afterwards,  on  the  occasion  of 
Moses'  decease,  are  still  more  fully  repeated.  Those  refer,  how- 
ever,  only  to  the  taldng  possession  of  Canaan  :   but  here  the 


444  LEVITICUS  XXVI.  1-18. 

people  appears,  with  the  progress  of  the  lawgiving,  as  already  in 
possession  of  the  promised  land.  There  are  blessings  in  that 
land  which  are  here  promised  to  Israel.  The  last  portion  of  the 
chapter  (from  ver.  40)  is  particularly  remarkable,  and  is  pe- 
cuharly  prophetic.  It  shows  how  the  relation  of  the  Lord  to 
His  people  is  an  eternal  one,  which  does  not  cease  even  through 
that  people's  apostasy.  Even  in  His  punishment,  which  never 
entirely  destroys  the  hope  of  the  people  being  received  back 
again,  the  Lord  shows  Himself  as  the  covenant  God  of  Israel. 

Ver.  1.  Image  of  stone. — Heb. :  "  No  stone  of  aspect ;"  by  which 
is  to  be  understood  a  stone  carved,  or  with  hieroglyphics  of  re- 
ligious signification,  such  as  were  in  great  numbers  in  Egypt. 

Ver.  2.  /  am  the  Lord. — These  two  precepts  by  no  means 
belong  to  the  preceding,  but  form  the  introduction  to  the  promises 
and  threatenings  which  follow.  Out  of  the  whole  range  of  the 
commandments,  two  are  brought  forward  as  the  sum  of  the 
whole,  which  relate  to  the  honour  to  be  paid  the  one  true  God 
and  to  His  service,  by  observing  His  Sabbaths  and  other  customs 
of  His  sanctuary.  That  this  is  the  meaning  of  "  reverence  My 
sanctuary"  is  evident  from  this,  that  all  public  service  and  re- 
ligious ceremonies  were  given  in  order  to  make  it  possible  for 
the  Lord  to  dwell  among  His  people.  These  were,  therefore, 
to  be  observed  with  reverence  for  His  sanctuary,  in  which  He 
dwelt. 

Ver.  5.  Until  the  sowing-time ;  i.e.,  Ye  shall  reap  such  a  full 
harvest  that  ye  shall  have  work  from  the  threshing-time,  which 
begins  in  April,  to  the  grape-gathering  in  September,  and  in 
like  manner  ft'om  the  vintage  with  the  wine-press  to  the  time  of 
sowing. 

Ver.  10.  Old  store. — Ye  shall  have  so  rich  harvests,  that  the 
first  shall  not  be  consumed  when  the  new  arrives. 

Ver.  12.  Ml/  people. — This  is  the  essential  point  of  the  bless- 
ing. All  outward  blessing  is  only  the  earnest  of  God's  continual 
dwelling  among  His  people.  The  gracious,  merciful,  holy,  and 
just  God  can  never  confer  mere  outward  blessing.  All  such 
outward  blessing  is  only  the  inducement  for  children  who  are  led 
by  the  senses  to  walk  in  communion  with  Him. 

Ver.  18.  Seven  times. — This  is  repeated  four  times  besides,  so 
that  there  are  five  degrees  in  the  ever  seven  times  more  severe 
punishment.    God  punishes  so,  that  He  always  in  His  wrath 


LEVITICUS  XXVI.  29-44.  445 

rcmembercth  mercy,  and  gives  time  for  repentance.  But  no 
punishment  is  so  great  that  a  greater  cannot  follow  it.  These 
Divine  fundamental  laws  of  all  punishment  are  made  known  here 
also,  since  the  last  of  all,  the  perishing  from  out  of  the  promised 
land,  leaves  room  still  to  a  return  (ver.  40),  until  the  final  har- 
dening brings  on  the  irreparable  destruction. 

Ver.  29.  Eat  the  fle.^h. — Repeated  Jer.  xix.  9,  cf.  Lam.  ii.  20. 
This  was  literally  fulfilled,  2  Kings  vi.  28,  29,  and  at  the  last 
destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

Ver.  30.  High  places. — "  High  places"  are  called  properly 
places  on  mountains  or  hills  where  Divine  worship  was  paid,  and 
then  the  small  sanctuaries,  chapels,  there  erected.  The  history 
of  the  Kings,  both  of  Judah  and  Israel,  shows  how  prone  the 
people  were  to  this  kind  of  worship  on  high  places,  which 
appeared  to  have  a  more  exciting  effect  through  the  senses  on 
the  religious  life.  It  allowed  greater  liberty  to  their  caprice  ; 
but,  above  all,  paved  the  way  to  the  idolatry  which  attached 
particular  sanctity  to  certain  places. 

Your  images. — Lit.,  "  your  Chammanim,"  Canaanitish  sun 
idols. 

Carcases. — There  seems  here  an  allusion  to  an  idolatry  such 
as  the  Egyptian  was,  in  which  mummies  of  animals  were  kept 
and  worshipped.  The  worshippers  of  such  deities  should  be 
slain,  and  their  carcases  cast  on  these  objects  of  impious 
worship. 

Ver.  32.  Astonished  at  it. — 2  Kings  xvii.  24,  etc. 

Ver.  34.  Ifer  Sabbaths. — Heb. :  "  The  land  will  pay  her 
Sabbaths."  It  shall  now  be  as  long  uncultivated  as  it  before 
had  been  tilled  by  the  disobedient  people  in  the  sabbatical 
years. 

Ver.  39.  Pine  axoay. — They  shall  receive  at  the  same  time  the 
punishment  for  their  own  sins  and  for  their  fathers'  sins. 

Ver.  44.  And  yet  for  all  that.—T\\\^  "yet  for  all  that"  (Heb., 
"  aff ")  is  regarded  by  the  Jews  in  their  dispersion  as  of  the  very 
greatest  importance,  since  on  it  rest  all  their  hopes  of  the  cove- 
nanted grace  of  God  towards  them.  Accordingly  they  call  it 
"  the  golden  affen ;"  and  it  is  sung  forth  in  their  synagogues 
with  a  loud  voice,  and  great  expressions  of  joy.  And,  indeed, 
this  prophetic  word  declares  that  Israel,  even  in  its  banishment, 
still  remains  God's  people,  and  that  His  particular  intentions  in 


446  LEVITICUS  XXVI.  46  ;    XXVII.  2. 

relation  to  them  have  not  come  to  an  end  with  their  apostasy  from 
Him. 

The  Lord  their  God. — God's  gift  and  calhng  are  not  capable 
of  retractation,  Rom.  xi.  29. 

Ver.  46.  Bi/  the  hand  of  Moses. — Herewith  is  concluded  the 
whole  of  the  lawgiving  on  Mount  Sinai.  That  which  imme- 
diately follows  is  perhaps  not  received  into  it,  because  it  treats 
of  something  of  a  peculiar  character,  which  does  not  lie  within 
the  desiffu  of  the  law. 


CHAPTER  XXVn. 

As  the  whole  people  of  Israel,  their  land,  and  all  that  they 
had,  was  the  Lord's  possession,  and  yet  a  priestly  class  was  set 
apart  from  among  them  to  stand  nearer  to  the  Lord  than  the 
rest,  in  like  manner  it  was  in  the  power  of  each  individual  to 
make  a  free-will  offering  of  himself  to  the  Lord.  The  same 
held  good  of  every  kind  of  property,  which  was  thereby  dedicated 
to  the  sanctuary  or  the  service  of  God's  worship.  The  motive 
for  such  a  vow  is  to  be  sought  in  the  unsatisfactory  feeling 
attending  the  religious  service  of  the  O.  T.  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  wished  by  means  of  it  to  draw  nearer  to  God.  The  con- 
sciousness that  the  sacrifices  could  effect  only  an  outward  cleans- 
ing and  pardon,  could  only  figuratively  reconcile  and  unite  to 
God,  urged  some  among  the  Israelites  expressly  and  entirely  to 
give  up  themselves,  and  what  belonged  to  them,  to  the  Lord. 
In  such  a  case  any  one  could  only  now  become  a  servant  of  the 
sanctuary,  who,  like  the  Levites,  was  employed  in  it,  but  in  still 
lower  offices  than  theirs.  Samuel  (1  Sam.  i.)  was  such  a  person 
dedicated  to  the  Lord,  only  that  he  as  a  Levite  (1  Chron.  vi. 
28)  was  there  employed  in  higher  duties.  In  like  manner  the 
Gibeonites  were  servants  of  the  sanctuary.  It  appears  as 
though  something  similar  to  this  vow  existed  even  in  earlier 
times,  and  that  in  the  following  chapter  the  liberty  to  absolve 
themselves  from  them  only  was  intended  to  be  preserved  to  the 
Israelites. 

Ver.  2.  A  singular  voiv. — Lit. :  "  When  a  man  sets  apart  a 


LEVITICUS  XXVII.  C-l.'?.  447 

vow" — when  he  will  do  something  over  and  above  the  usnal 
service  of  sacrifice. 

For  thy  estimation. — From  vers.  9,  10,  it  is  evident  that  a 
beast  vowed  to  the  Lord  must  be  sacrificed  and  was  altogether 
holy.  The  "  estimation "  of  the  men  who  were  vowed  to  the 
Lord  had,  therefore,  altogether  the  same  meaning  as  the  redeem- 
ing of  the  first-born  (Exod.  xiii.  13).  The  man,  in  truth,  was 
dedicated  to  the  Lord  ;  but  because  human  sacrifices  were  an 
abomination  in  God's  sight,  his  life  must  be  redeemed.  By  the 
words  "  by  thy  estimation,"  we  are  not  to  understand  the  person 
dedicating  himself  (cf.  ver.  15),  still  less  the  whole  congregation, 
because  in  the  case  of  each  particular  vow  the  congregation 
could  not  be  called  to  estimate  it.  But  rather  Moses  is  ad- 
dressed, and  in  him  the  priest  (cf.  ch.  v.  15,  ch.  vi.  6),  who  in  a 
particular  case  (vers.  8,  12)  is  expressly  mentioned,  because  the 
estimation  was  more  difficult,  and  he  must  see  the  animal  itself; 
but,  in  the  case  of  men,  he  made  the  estimation  according  to 
years.  That  in  ver.  2  all  the  children  of  Israel  are  addressed, 
does  not  prove  that  by  "  thy  "  they  must  be  intended,  since  the 
address  at  the  commencement  delivers  an  already  prepared  com- 
mandment to  the  people.  There  is  also  no  example  that  such  a 
mode  of  address  as  "  thy  "  can  refer  to  the  people. 

Ver.  fi.  A  month. — Females  were  estimated  at  a  little  more 
than  a  half,  or  at  half  as  much  as  the  men.  The  woman  is  the 
weaker  vessel  (1  Pet.  iii.  7),  created  after  the  man,  out  and 
for  him  (1  Tim.  ii.  13 ;  1  Cor.  i.  8,  9),  and  she  was  the  first  in 
the  transgression  (1  Tim.  ii.  14).  But  in  Christ  Jesus  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female,  but  all  are  one  in  Him,  Gal.  iii.  28. 

Ver.  8.  Poorer ;  i.e.,  if  he  does  not  possess  enough  to  pay  such  a 
ransom  for  himself  or  for  what  belongs  to  him,  his  child  or  slave. 

Ver.  9.  Sliall  he  holy. — According  to  Jewish  tradition  this  is 
to  be  understood  thus :  If  any  one  had  vowed  a  clean  animal 
that  may  be  sacrificed,  then  must  it,  if  it  be  a  male,  be  sold  for  a 
burnt-sacrifice  and  offered  as  a  burnt-sacrifice ;  if  it  be  a  female, 
must  be  sold  and  offered  as  a  thank-offering,  and  the  price  falls 
to  the  sanctuary  for  its  support. 

Ver.  13.  Fifth  part. — If  the  vow  is  so  far  void  to  any  one  that 
he  may  keep  the  animal  for  his  own  use,  in  this  case  he  must 
pay  the  price  of  it,  and  by  way  of  punishment  or  compensation 
add  the  fifth  part  (cf.  ch.  v.  16,  ch.  vi.  4,  5,  ch.  xxii.  14). 


448  LEVITICUS  XXVII.  14-29. 

Ver.  14.  Stand. — Even  in  the  case  of  a  vow  with  respect  to 
a  house  or  other  thing,  the  main  point  is  not  its  value  or  the 
sum  to  be  paid  for  it,  but  the  renunciation  of  right  in  it — the 
inward  redemption  of  it,  which  is  declared  openly  by  the  offer- 
ing of  it. 

Ver.  17.  Tht/  estimation. — Simply,  without  reckoning  the 
harvests. 

Ver.  20.  To  another  man;  i.e.,  if  the  priest  to  whom  the  field 
has  been  made  over  has  already  sold  it  to  another.  The  owner 
cannot  here  be  meant,  as  he  had  renounced  his  right  to  it  until 
the  year  of  jubilee. 

Ver.  21.  Devoted. — All  is  "  devoted  "  which  was  taken  by  the 
Lord  against  the  owner's  will  or  confiscated  to  Him — an  in- 
voluntary consecration.     So  afterwards  in  war :  cf  vers.  28,  29. 

Ver.  23.  Thi/  estimatioti. — Here  Moses  is  distinguished  from 
the  priest,  since  at  that  time  the  affair  must  be  brought  before 
Moses.  It  is  not  inconsistent  with  this,  that  at  a  later  period  the 
priest  alone  made  the  estimation. 

And  he ;  viz.,  who  had  made  the  vow. 

Ver.  24.  Did  belong. — Under  the  pretext  of  a  vow  could  no 
one  be  deprived  of  his  inheritance.  That  was  only  possible  in 
the  case,  ver.  21. 

Ver.  25.  Of  the  sanctuary. — In  order  that  the  estimation 
might  be  the  same  in  case  of  alterations  in  the  value  of  money. 

Ver.  26.  It  is  the  Lord's.— Ct  Exod.  xiii. 

Ver.  29.  Put  to  death. — At  first  sight  it  seems  as  though  it 
would  have  been  free  for  every  one  to  devote  anything  of  his 
possessions,  or  of  the  persons  who  were  in  his  power ;  and  the 
vow  of  Jephtha  has  very  mistakenly  been  referred  to  this  com- 
mand. What  was  devoted  could  never  be  offered  in  sacinfice ; 
but  in  all  places  where  mention  is  elsewhere  made  of  the  ban 
laid  on  anything  (Num.  xxi.  23,  ch.  xxxi. ;  Deut.  ii.  34,  ch.  xiii. 
13,  etc.,  ch.  XXV.  29  ;  Joshua  vi.  17  ;  Mai.  iv.  6),  this  appears 
as  a  dedication  to  destruction,  as  a  fulfilling  of  the  Divine  ven- 
geance, as  an  honouring  of  God  on  those  in  whom  He  cannot 
show  Himself  holy  and  glorious.  Jephtha's  vow  cannot  be  of 
this  kind,  as  he  has  vowed  his  daughter  for  a  "  burnt-offering," 
since  here  it  is  not  said  that  the  thing  devoted  should  be  offered 
in  sacrifice,  but  that  it  should  be  put  to  death.  In  like  manner 
the  devoted  town  was  to  be  made  "  an  heap  for  ever,"  Deut.  xiii. 


LEVITICUS  XXVII.  30,  31.  440 

10.  The  same  took  ])lace,  therefore,  in  every  case  in  the  holy 
war  against  the  Canaanites  ;  e.g.,  Num.  xxi.  1-3.  In  the  case 
supposed  in  the  phice  before  us,  we  are  therefore  to  understand 
that  the  punishment  of  God  was  to  be  executed  on  a  town  in 
which  were  persons  or  things  which  belonged  to  individuals 
dwelling  outside  it — to  innocent  Israelites.  In  this  case  none 
should  have  the  right  to  treat  "the  devoting"  as  "vowing," 
and  by  redemption  to  withdraw  what  was  devoted  from  punish- 
ment. The  ban  of  devotion  is  the  counterpart  of  the  burnt  and 
sin-offering.  As  these  "  most  holy "  sacrifices  might  not  be 
eaten  by  the  sacrificers,  but  must  be  altogether  burnt  or  con- 
sumed, so  must  that  which  was  "  devoted  "  be  destroyed.  The 
sacrifices  could  not  l)e  eaten,  because  the  Lord  was  to  be  pro- 
pitiated by  the  entire  surrender  of  them  before  any  communion 
with  Him  was  possible  :  the  devoted  thing  could  not  be  re- 
deemed, because  only  its  entire  destruction  could  satisfy  the  re- 
tributive justice  of  God. 

Ver.  30.  IIoli/  unto  the  Lord. — From  these,  no  more  than  from 
the  first-born,  could  anything  be  vowed  to  the  Lord,  ver.  26. 

Ver.  31.  Fifth  part  thereof. — The  tithes  of  natural  products 
might,  therefore,  be  exchanged  with  money,  only  on  this  condi- 
tion, that  a  fifth  part  of  tlie  tithe  must  be  added.  The  subject 
of  tithe  has  been  generally  spoken  about.  Gen.  xxviii.  22,  note. 


2  F 


THE  FOURTH  BOOK  OF  MOSES, 


CALLED  NUMBERS. 


CHAPTER  L 

The  lawgiving  on  Sinai  was  now  completed,  since  what  occurs, 
Lev.  xxvii.  and  Num.  v.  vi.,  and  in  the  other  chapters,  consists 
either  of  some  particular  supplemental  directions,  or  of  commands 
which  relate  to  their  march  into  Canaan.  Israel,  the  people  of 
the  Lord,  is  now  also  to  become  His  army,  to  carry  on  His  wars, 
and  to  execute  His  judgments.  The  people,  therefore,  is  reck- 
oned in  martial  order ;  and  hence  is  plain  what  is  the  right  rela- 
tion of  the  numbering  which  here  takes  place  in  reference  to 
that  which  was  given  in  the  case  of  the  payment  made  to  the 
sanctuary.  A  comparison  of  the  numbers  in  Exod.  xxxviii.  26 
and  in  this  place,  shows  them  to  be  exactly  equal,  viz.,  603,550. 
But  as  it  is  not  likely  (without  a  miracle,  which  is  not  men- 
tioned, and  is  not  probable)  that,  after  the  lapse  of  about  a  year, 
the  number  would  be  exactly  the  same,  we  may  suppose  that 
probably  the  old  numbering,  taken  at  the  erection  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  there  recorded,  is  the  groundwork  of  this  fresh  one ; 
and  that  this  latter  related  only  to  the  division  into  tribes  and 
families,  according  to  which  the  army  was  arranged.  And  the 
case  so  stands  in  the  numbering  of  the  host,  that  all  the  sums  of 
the  particular  tribes  can  be  divided  by  ten,  as  probably  the  army 
was  arranged  in  divisions  of  ten,  and  those  which  were  over  and 
above  were  omitted.     In  this  manner  the  few  changes  which  in 


452  NUMBERS  I.  2-52  ;    II. 

tlie  course  of  a  year  had  taken  place  among  the  men  of  age  to 
bear  arms,  could  be  supplied  by  the  supernumeraries.  • 

Ver.  2.  House  of  their  fathers. — "  House  of  their  fathers  "  was 
the  name  of  the  greater,  more  comprehensive  families  ;  "  fami- 
lies," of  the  particular  lines. 

Ver.  3.  By  their  armies. — According  to  the  particular  divisions 
of  the  army. 

Ver.  5.  Stand  with  you. — Ileb.  :  "  Those  called  into  the  con- 
gregation :"  cf.  Lev.  viii.  4,  note. 

Ver.  16.  Renoumed. — Heb. :  "The  heads  of  the  thousands  of 
Israel."  The  tribes  Avere  divided  into  thousands,  as  in  Germany 
(and  in  England  and  North  America  the  division  Avas  customary 
into  hundi'eds)  ;  a  round  number,  to  express  the  approximate  size 
of  a  tribe.  This  division  appears  from  the  beginning  to  have 
referred  to  the  host,  or  afterwards  to  have  been  applied  to  it.  In 
later  times  every  such  thousand  had  a  centre  in  a  larger  town ; 
therefore  was  Bethlehem  too  small  to  be  among  the  thousands  of 
Judah  :  Micah  v.  1. 

Ver.  18.  Number  of  their  names.^LAt. :  "  According  to  their 
families  in  the  house  of  their  fathers,  in  the  number  of  their 
names" — i.e.,  of  individual  persons. 

Ver.  20.  Number  of  their  names,  proceeding  from  the  indivi- 
dual to  the  more  general,  as  always  afterwards. 

Ver.  47.  Levites. — Because  they  did  not  belong  to  the  host. 

Ver.  51.  Set  it  tip. — Heb. :  "  Let  it  down;"  i.e.,  the  scaffold- 
ing and  curtains.     "  Stranger ;"  i.e.,  one  who  is  not  a  Levite. 

Ver.  52.  Wrath. — If  the  sanctuary  is  profaned. 


CHAPTER  II. 

In  order  to  give  Israel  still  more  the  form  of  an  army,  a  dis- 
tinct order  of  encampment  is  prescribed  it.  In  the  middle  is  the 
tabernacle.  Around  this  is  arranged  the  camp  in  the  form  of  a 
square,  so  that  three  tribes  are  arranged  on  every  side.  Among 
these  the  middle,  as  the  most  distinguished,  carries  the  standard. 
The  eastern  side  is  the  foremost.  The  main  direction  of  the 
march  of  the  host  was  towards  the  east.    There  was  the  entrance 


NUMBERS  II.  3,33;    III,  1.  453 

of  the  sanctuary.  On  this  side  Judah,  as  the  prince  among  his 
brethren  (Gen.  xlix.  8),  carries  the  standard ;  on  the  south  side 
stands  the  standard  of  Reuben  ;  in  the  middle,  next  to  him,  his 
own  brother  Simeon,  and  Gad,  the  son  of  his  mother's  maid- 
servant. Dan  receives  the  chief  post  on  the  north  side,  as  the 
judicial  tribe  in  Israel  (Gen.  xlviii.  16) ;  on  the  west  are  Rachel's 
descendants — Ephraim  the  standard-bearer,  as  the  selected  first- 
born, Gen.  xlviii.  19. 

Ver.  3.  Standard. — The  standard  belonged  to  all  the  three 
tribes  ;  but  besides  this  each  tribe  had  its  own  ensign. 

Ver.  33.  Levites. — As  they  did  not  give  any  service  in  war. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Around  the  tabernacle,  in  the  middle  of  the  whole,  is  en- 
camped the  tribe  of  Levi.  And  in  order  to  show  that  this  tribe 
is,  as  it  were,  the  heart  of  the  whole  people,  it  was  to  be  arranged 
in  four  divisions,  each  of  which  corresponds  to  one  of  the  four 
divisions  of  the  tribes.  The  Gershonites,  behind  the  tabernacle, 
had  the  charge  of  the  coverings  and  hangings ;  the  Kohathites, 
on  the  south  side,  the  sacred  vessels  and  furniture  ;  the  Merar- 
ites,  the  boards,  bars,  sockets,  and  pillars.  Before  the  taber- 
nacle, towards  the  east,  were  encamped  Moses,  Aaron,  and  his 
sons,  as  the  immediate  guardians  of  the  sanctuary. 

Ver.  1.  Generations. — Witli  these  words  commence  many 
narratives  of  these  books,  which  contain  far  more  than  a  register 
of  genealogy ;  e.r/..  Gen.  xxxvii.  2.  The  reason  is,  because  in 
these  very  ancient  books  the  table  of  the  generations  forms 
the  thread  of  the  history  :  cf.  Gen.  v.  In  the  case  of  Moses, 
who  in  so  many  respects  stands  by  himself  in  the  history  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  we  find  this  peculiarity,  that  his  children  are 
merged  among  the  rest  of  the  Levites,  and  have  no  part  in  the 
priesthood,  so  that,  as  the  passage  before  us  shows,  he  is  con- 
tinued in  Aaron's  posterity.  The  reason  perhaps  might  be, 
either  that  the  mother  of  his  children  was  a  Midianitish  woman, 
or  because   at  the  first  Moses  had  refused  to  be  sent,  so  that 


454  NUMBERS  III.  3-51. 

Aaron,  contrary  to  God's  purpose,  was  appointed  his  colleague. 
Exod.  iv.,  note  on  ver.  14. 

Ver.  3.  Priests  ojfice. — Cf.  Exod.  xxviii.  41,  note. 

Ver.  7.  Charge  of  the  lohole  congregation. — This  word  signifies 
not  merely  "  to  watch,"  but  "  to  do  the  service."  The  whole 
people  were  called  to  this  sacred  service  ;  the  Levites  performed 
it  in  their  stead. 

Ver.  9.  Children  of  Israel. — It  is  here  intended  expressly  to 
be  signified  that  they  were  only  servants  of  the  priests. 

Ver.  10.  Stranger. — Therefore  even  a  Levite  himself. 

Ver.  12.  Shall  he  mine. — Cf.  Exod.  xiii.  1 ;  Lev.  xxvii.  26. 
According  to  the  intimation  in  Exod.  xxxii.  29,  the  particular 
time  of  conferring  this  blessing  was  on  the  occasion  of  the 
vengeance  executed  by  the  tribe  of  Levi  on  the  idolaters. 

Ver.  25.  The  tabernacle. — "  The  tabernacle"  are  the  curtains 
on  the  sanctuary  inside ;  "  the  tent,"  the  outward  coverings :  cf. 
Exod.  xxvi.  1,  7,  note  2. 

Ver.  27.  Kohath. — The  Kohathites,  to  which  Aaron  and  his 
famil}'  belonged,  had  the  most  sacred  offices. 

Ver.  39.  22,000. — When  we  reckon  the  particular  sums 
given,  vers.  22,  28,  34,  we  find  a  total  sum  of  22,300 ;  therefore 
300  more  than  here.  We  must  either  suppose  an  error  in  tran- 
scribing the  numbers,  or  a  round  sum  to  be  mentioned,  or  that 
the  300  above  the  number  were  themselves  first-born,  and  there- 
fore could  not  come  in  the  place  of  other  first-born. 

Ver.  43.  The  very  small  number  of  tlie  first-born  is  surprising, 
as  it  is  only  one  in  every  27.  Various  ways  of  accounting  for 
this  by  way  of  deduction  have  been  resorted  to  ;  as,  for  example, 
that  in  all  the  families  where  the  first-born  was  a  daughter,  no 
first-born  was  reckoned.  But,  perhaps,  the  most  correct  way  is 
to  suppose  that  only  the  first-born  after  the  law,  Exod.  xiii.,  had 
been  given  were  reckoned.  In  that  case  the  number,  of  course, 
would  be  very  great ;  but  this,  perhaps,  may  be  accounted  for  by 
su])posing  that,  in  the  latter  period  of  the  great  oppression  in 
Egypt,  the  people  had  not  much  multiplied,  but  afterwards  ui 
the  wilderness  the  increase  had  been  proportionably  gi'eat. 

Ver.  51.  Commanded  Moses. — Subsequently  all  the  money  for 
the  redemption  of  the  first-born  fell  to  Aaron,  ch.  xviii.  15. 


NUMBERS  IV.  3-14.  45:5 


CHAPTER  IV. 


After  the  general  view  of  their  position  given  in  the  former 
chapter,  there  follows  now  the  particular  business  of  each  divi- 
sion of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  The  priests  held  the  most  holy 
offices,  which  the  other  sons  of  Levi  might  not  touch,  "lest  they 
should  be  destroyed;"  the  next  holy,  the  Kohathites,  from  which 
family  Aaron  was.  Their  business  is  most  fully  described,  and 
Aaron's  eldest  son  set  over  them  :  the  younger  over  the  two 
others. 

Ver.  3.  Thirty  years  and  upward. — According  to  ch.  viii.  24 
they  are  fit  for  war  and  for  the  service  of  the  tabernacle  from 
theii'  twenty-fifth  year.  But  for  the  carrying  of  the  holy  things, 
as  the  most  distinguished  office,  whereby  they  were  most  highly 
honoured  and  placed  most  near  the  Lord,  they  were  only  con- 
sidered mature  from  their  thirtieth  year.  The  reason  was,  not 
on  account  of  their  bodily  strength  being  insufficient  for  the 
purpose  before  that  age,  but  this  maturity  had  a  figurative  signi- 
fication. The  service  of  the  Lord  claimed  a  person  in  the  per- 
fection of  manhood  and  the  bloom  of  his  years.  The  Jewish 
tradition  believed  that  in  the  five  years  they  had  enjoyed  a  train- 
ing for  the  full  duties  of  the  office — which  perhaps  was  the  case 
in  later  times. 

Ver.  4.  Most  holy  things. — Cf.  Exod.  xxx.  10,  note. 

Ver.  5.  Cover. — Cf.  Exod.  xxv.  5. 

Ver.  6.  Wholly  of  blue. — Heb.,  "  A  blue  purple  (hyacinth- 
coloured)  covering:"  as  Exod.  xxv.  4.  Li  order  that  the  great- 
est sanctuary  of  the  covenant  might,  in  the  march  of  the  host,  be 
prominent  and  distinguished,  it  had  a  peculiar  beautiful  covering 
over  it. 

Ver.  7.  Continval  bread.— CI  Exod.  xxv.  29,  30. 

Ver.  10.  Upon  a  bar. — An  instrument  for  carrying  it  which 
might  be  laid  on  the  shoulders. 

Ver.  14.  Staves  of  it. — In  the  oldest  versions  this  addition  is 
found, — "  And  they  shall  take  a  blue  pui^ple  covering,  and  place 
therein  the  stave,  and  shall  place  it  in  a  covering  of  badger 
skins,  and  place  it  on  a  bar ;"  which  words  in  the  Hebrew  were 
perhaps  afterwards  left  out  by  oversight,  and  originally  stood 
in  it. 


456  NUMBERS  IV.  IG,  48;    V.  3,  8. 

Ver.  16.  JJaily  meat-offering. — According  to  Exod.  xxix.  38, 
a  meat-offering  was  joined  to  the  daily  sacrifice.  If,  during  the 
march  of  the  host,  this  latter  must  be  omitted,  yet  at  least  the 
former  should  be  continued  without  interruption. 

Ver.  48.  That  of  tlie  22,000  Levites  there  were  8580  of  the 
age  between  30  and  50,  is  somewhat  unusual;  and,  perhaps,  may 
be  explained  by  supposing  that  this  tribe  had  been  spared  in  the 
great  chastisement,  Exod.  xxxii.,  in  which  men  in  the  prime  of 
life  especially  perished. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ver.  3.  Without  the  camp. — That  was  now  carried  into  exe- 
cution which  had  been  commanded,  Lev.  xiii.  46. 

Ver.  8.  To  the  priest. — This  completes  what  had  been  said  on 
the  thing  itself,  Lev.  vi.  4.  Here  it  is  only  added  in  what  way, 
in  the  case  of  the  impossibility  of  restitution  to  the  injured  person, 
satisfaction  shall  follow.  Since,  in  such  a  case,  every  one  had 
committed  a  sin  especially  against  the  Lord  (ver.  6),  it  was 
natural  that  to  Him,  i.e.,  to  the  priest,  satisfaction  should  be 
made. 

The  following  remarkable  regulation  gives  us  a  deep  insight 
into  the  teaching  of  the  law  of  marriage.  The  state  of  marriage 
appears  as  a  Divine  institution  immediately  after  the  creation. 
The  human  connection  of  the  sexes  is  most  clearly  distinguished 
from  that  of  the  animals  as  a  holy  and  indissoluble  union;  and  in 
the  course  of  the  history  we  see  how  the  great  comprehensive 
covenant-relation  of  God  to  His  people  is  represented  to  us  as 
that  of  mannage — the  type  of  which,  in  a  small  degree,  is  human 
marriage.  We  find,  among  the  covenant  people,  adulteiy  for- 
bidden in  the  ten  commandments,  and,  in  the  more  full  expla- 
nation of  the  law,  threatened  with  death.  The  prohibitions  of 
marriage  in  cases  of  near  kinship  are  intended  to  ]irotect  the 
holy  family  bond,  which  is  founded  on  marriage.  The  whole 
constitution  of  the  people  of  Israel,  with  their  tables  of  genealogies, 
resting,  as  this  constitution  did,  on  the  patriarchal  family  unity, 
necessarily  inculcated  the  great  importance  of  a  pure  and  un- 


NUMBERS  V.  14.  457 

mixed  descent.  Hence,  now,  the  appointment  of  the  jealousy- 
offering,  whicli  was  intended  to  bring  to  light  the  truth  of  the 
suspicion  of  adultery.  Later  tradition  thus  describes  the  pro- 
ceeding : — "  The  husband  comes  to  the  judge  of  his  place,  and 
says  to  him,  This,  my  wife,  has  had  intercourse  with  another 
man,  and  these  are  the  witnesses ;  and  she  says  she  is  innocent, 
and  is  willing  to  drink  in  proof  thereof.  Then  the  judge  examines 
the  witnesses,  and  appoints  two  persons  to  watch  the  man  that 
he  does  not  have  any  intercourse  with  his  wife  until  she  has 
drunk.  Then  she  is  sent  to  Jerusalem,  since  the  suspected 
woman  is  not  allowed  to  drink,  except  in  the  high  council  of  the 
seventy  elders  in  the  sanctuary."  It  is  remarkable  that  now  the 
woman  must  appear  with  an  offering  before  the  Lord.  This  was 
an  offering  of  barley  with  wheat-meal — no  oil,  no  frankincense, 
might  be  on  it.  She  lay  under  grave  suspicion.  Li  this,  at 
least,  she  was  not  blameless.  In  the  meat-offering  she  presented 
her  walk  of  life — her  works  to  God  (cf.  Lev.  iii.,  introd.).  This 
she  could  only  do  in  the  feeling  of  her  unworthiness,  without  the 
emblem  of  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  prayer  well-pleasing  to 
God.  Yet  she  might  bring  the  offering,  since  she  was  only  sus- 
pected,  not  judged.  By  making  the  offering,  she  confessed  herself 
pure  before  God ;  she  appealed  to  Him,  in  case  her  small  offer- 
ing was  pleasing  to  Him,  to  defend  her  innocency ;  in  case  of 
guilt,  she  challenged  His  judgment  to  fall  upon  her  more  heavily. 
Holding  the  offering  in  her  hand,  she  must  take  the  oath  that 
she  is  clean,  which  is  the  main  point  of  the  whole  transaction. 
All  besides  is  intended  to  make  the  perjury  in  this  case  the  more 
fearful.  Therefore  she  must  now  drink  the  water  wherein  is 
placed  dust  taken  from  the  floor  of  the  sanctuary,  and  figuratively 
charged  with  a  curse.  The  meaning  is  not  that  the  water  has 
thereby  received  any  actual  power  to  do  her  any  injury  :  it  was 
rather  an  earnest  and  token  of  the  Divine  judgment  which  now 
])assed  over  her.  From  the  moment  of  drinking  it  she  might  be 
sure  that,  as  certainly  as  the  curse  had  figuratively  passed  into 
the  water,  and  the  water  into  her,  so  surely  would  God  know 
how  to  find  her  out  with  His  punishments,  and  that  in  the  very 
parts  of  the  body  with  which  she  had  sinned. 

Ver.  14.  Spirit  of  jealousy. — The  "spirit  of  jealousy"  is  the 
spirit  which  in  this  relation  will  endure  no  rival.  It  appears 
lierc  as  by  no  means  a  sinful  feeling.     On  the  contrary,  it  is  only 


458  NUMBERS  V.  15-22. 

by  the  conduct  here  prescribed  that  the  man  is  "  guikless  fi*om 
iniquity  "  in  respect  to  his  wife  (ver.  31).  He  would  become  a 
participator  in  her  guih  if  he  let  it  pass  unnoticed.  Nay,  there 
is  m  the  words,  "  come  upon  him,"  an  indication  that  a  holy 
indignation  was  well-pleasing  to  God,  and  therefore  indifferent 
acquiescence  displeasing  to  Him.  Moreover,  the  man  only  had 
the  right  of  this  appeal  to  the  oath,  the  woman  not  so.  She  was 
in  the  husband's  power  as  his  property,  and  must  endure  the 
presence  of  a  concubine.  A  relation  like  this,  having  its  origin 
in  the  fall,  could  not  abide  in  the  Christian  Church. 

Ver.  15.  Her  offering. — The  husband  brings  the  offering ;  i.e., 
he  does  not  present  it  to  the  Lord  as  his  offering,  since  the 
woman  must  do  that,  but  he  must  give  it  her  out  of  his  property 
— place  her  in  a  condition  to  make  it. 

To  remembrance. — Namely,  before  the  Lord.  Since  the  offer- 
ing, in  case  of  guilt,  calls  down  the  pvmishment  of  the  Lord  on 
the  sin.  With  this  may  well  be  consistent  that  in  the  mind  of 
the  woman  it  was  a  meat-offering  in  the  usual  sense. 

Ver.  17.  Holy  ivater. — Water  from  a  brazen  vessel  in  the 
fore-court :  Exod.  xxx.  18. 

Earthen  vessel. — Of  a  common,  despised  material. 

Into  the  toater. — There  must,  as  an  emblem  of  the  Divine  pre- 
sence, be  put  into  the  water  something  holy,  consecrated  to  God. 
But  on  account  of  the  heavy  suspicion  against  the  woman  this 
might  be  nothing  but  the  meanest  of  things,  the  dust  from  the 
floor.  The  serpent  was  sentenced  to  eat  dust.  Gen.  iii.  14 ;  and 
mourners  disfigured  themselves  with  it.  Job  ii.  12. 

Ver.  18.  Uncover. — The  uncovering  took  place  by  way  of  dis- 
figurement ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  was  to  signify  that  the 
woman,  so  long  as  she  lay  under  suspicion,  was  not  united  with, 
or  in  the  power  of,  the  man :  1  Cor.  xi.  5,  etc. 

Bitter  water. — The  bitterness  does  not  relate  to  the  taste,  but 
to  its  power  to  bring  destruction  in  case  of  a  fldse  oath. 

Ver.  21.  A  curse  and  an  oath;  i.e.,  an  example  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  threatened  curse. 

Ver.  22.  Amen,  Amen. — The  priest  administered  the  oath — 
l)ut  it  in  her  mouth — and  she  ratified  and  made  it  her  own  by 
her  Amen.  This  word,  which  occurs  in  the  O.  T.  both  at  the 
beginning  and  end  of  a  speech  by  way  of  confirmation  and 
affirmation,  means  properly,  "firm,"  "certain,"  and  was  rendered 


NUMBERS  V.  31  ;  VI.  459 

by  the  old  translators,  "so  be  it;"  but  in  the  N.  T.  we  find  the 
Hebrew  word  itself  in  the  Greek,  whence  it  has  passed  into  our 
Church  lancTuage.  In  respect  to  the  oath,  see  Deut.  xxvii.  15; 
Neh.  V.  13,  ch.  viii.  G. 

Ver.  31.  Bear  her  iniquitij. — The  punishment  of  death  decreed 
against  adultery. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

As  God  ordinarily  revealed  Himself  to  His  people  through 
His  priests,  and  especially  His  high  priest — but,  beside  them, 
occasionally  raised  up  prophets  as  Moses,  Deut.  xviii.  18,  who 
interfered  with  a  corrupt  and  irregular  state  of  things — so,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  it  permitted  to  some  out  of  the  people,  as 
being  a  kingdom  of  priests,  at  their  own  option  to  partake,  by 
means  of  a  vow  for  a  time  or  for  their  life,  in  certain  privileges 
of  the  consecrated  order.  Tliis  was  the  relation  in  which  a 
Nazir — i.e.^  one  set  apart — stood.  Like  the  priests  when  they 
were  about  to  enter  the  sanctuary  (Lev.  x.  9,  10),  a  Nazarite 
abstains  for  a  time  from  wine  and  strong  drink,  as  if  he  desired 
ever  in  spirit  to  live  before  God  in  His  service.  He  lets  his 
hair  grow  in  token  of  fulness  of  life,  which  flowed  to  him  from 
God.  Like  the  priest,  he  might  not  mourn  for  the  death  of  his 
nearest  kinsman.  Samson  and  John  Baptist  were  exceptional 
cases  of  such  persons  set  apart  to  the  Lord  for  the  whole  of  their 
life.  In  them,  as  in  the  best  of  the  Christian  monks,  and  in 
their  influence  on  corrupt  times,  the  meaning  and  the  working 
of  such  an  institution  may  be  perceived,  which,  if  it  belongs,  as 
it  does,  more  to  the  time  of  the  law  and  of  childhood,  yet  may  in 
certain  limits  be  revived  in  all  times.  Therefore  God  speaks  of 
it  as  one  of  His  benefits  conferred  on  the  people,  that  He  had 
"  raised  up  of  their  sons  for  prophets,  and  of  their  young  men 
for  Nazarites  "  (Amos  ii.  11);  and  He  represents  them  as  the 
flower  and  ornament  of  the  people,  Lam.  iv.  7. — Two  particu- 
hir  customs  in  sacrifices  are  appointed  the  Nazarite.  If  he  has 
accidentally  made  himself  unclean  by  touching  a  dead  body, 
he  must,  on  account  of  the  sanctity  and  conspicuousness  of  his 


4(30  NUMBERS  VI.  2-20. 

peculiar  relation  to  God,  bring  a  trespass-offering,  besides  the 
burnt  and  sin-ofFering  (cf.  Lev.  v.,  introd.).  When  the  time  of 
his  vow  was  past,  the  Nazarite  was,  besides  this  burnt  and  sin- 
oflFering,  above  all  to  bring  the  thank-oifering,  which  is  made  in 
the  case  of  every  vow  (cf.  Lev.  iii.,  introd.).  But  into  the  fire 
of  the  thank-offering  the  especial  token  of  the  votee  must  be 
thrown,  namely,  his  long  hair,  which  is  now  cut  off.  The  other 
customs  in  sacrifices  are  like  to  the  consecration  offering  of  the 
priests  (Exod.  xxix.),  but  naturally  have  not  the  meaning  of 
consecration,  but  of  the  thank-offering  of  one  consecrated  after 
a  priestly  manner,  who  partly  will  acknowledge  the  blessing  he 
has  received,  partly  will  show  his  joy  and  thankfulness  for  the 
same. 

Ver.  2.  When  either. — Lit.,  "  When  a  man  or  woman  does 
something  extraordinary  to  vow  the  vow  of  the  Nazir  (the  sepa- 
rated), to  set  himself  apart  to  the  Lord,"  etc. 

Ver.  3.  Strong  drink. — Under  the  "  strong  drink "  is  all 
kind  of  fruit-wines  to  be  understood,  which  were  in  those  times 
made  from  dates  or  from  the  juice  of  palms;  also  a  kind  of  beer 
fi"om  barley. 

Ver.  4.  Hush. — As,  under  things  forbidden,  much  not  pro- 
perly speaking  intoxicating  is  mentioned,  we  perceive  herein  the 
emblematic  meaning  of  the  abstinence. 

Ver.  5.  Groio. — From  the  history  of  Samson  especially,  we 
perceive  the  meaning  of  this  custom.  It  is  not  for  a  moment  to 
be  regarded  as  a  token  of  mourning.  A  strong  growth  of  hair  is 
an  emblem  of  the  vigour  of  strength  and  life,  and  hence  often 
in  pictures  is  represented  as  "  blossoming,  sprouting."  This  is 
again  an  emblem  of  communion  with  God,  the  source  of  all  life. 

Ver.  7.  Consecration.  Cf.  Lev.  xxi.  IL— "  Vow."  "  Neser" 
signifies,  properly,  "  separation  ;"  but  then  also,  what  in  this  cir- 
cumstance appears  as  its  peculiar  token,  "  the  strong  growth  of 
hair." 

Ver.  12.  Days  of  his  separation.: — From  the  day  of  the  sacri- 
fice, the  eighth  day. 

Ver.  14.  Peace-offerings. — The  most  precious  animal  for  the 
most  important  of  the  three  sacrifices. 

Ver.  15.  Dnnk-oferiyig. — Each  of  the  sacrifices  had  its  own. 

Ver.  17.    Unleavened  hread. — Cf.  Lev.  viii.  26. 

Ver.  20.   Heave-shonlder. — The  wavino;,  which   denoted  the 


NUMBERS  VI.  21-26.  461 

surrender  to  the  Lord,  the  consecration  of  tlie  sacrificcr  (cf. 
Lev.  vii.  34,  note),  must  here  be  prominent,  where  a  consecra- 
tion similar  to  the  priestly  took  place,  and  where  it  was  intended 
to  be  especially  marked  by  the  sacrifice.  When  the  sacrifices 
were  prepared  which  the  fire  from  heaven  consumed,  Aaron  felt 
himself  impelled,  as  it  seems  without  express  command  of  God, 
to  bless  the  people  (Lev.  ix.  22).  The  Lord  confirms  wdiat  was 
then  done,  by  giving  His  name  as  the  particular  purport  of  the 
blessing  which  was  to  descend  on  the  people.  Here  also  the 
name  of  the  Lord  appears  as  something  real,  creative.  It  is  His 
revealed  nature — God  Himself  in  His  attributes  made  known  to 
His  covenant  people,  who,  when  the  blessing  is  pronounced, 
communicates  Himself  to  the  faith  of  His  own,  and  unites  Him- 
self with  them.  In  the  form  of  blessing  here  appears  for  the 
first  time  the  Divine  number  Three,  which  so  often  occurs  in  the 
N.  T,,  and  following  each  other  in  the  same  way  as  in  similar 
passages  in  the  N.  T.  First,  God  generally,  as  the  source  of  all 
good,  and  the  defence  against  all  evil ;  next,  the  same  God  as 
revealing  Himself  from  without,  and,  indeed,  in  His  grace ;  and 
lastly,  the  same  as  inwardly  uniting  Himself  with  His  own,  and 
sending  them  His  peace  ("  the  love  of  God,  the  grace  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  2  Cor.  xiii.  13). 

Ver.  24.  The  Lord  bless  thee. — A  notification  that  these  words 
continued  in  use  is  to  be  found  2  Sam.  vi.  18  ;  cf  Ecclus.  xxxvi. 
17. — That  the  Lord  blesses,  the  Lord  defends — this  is  the  main 
point  in  this  first  division.  He  it  is  from  whom  all  good  pro- 
ceeds, and  He  will  grant  all  good  to  His  people. 

Ver.  25.  Jlis  face. — A  further  repetition  of  this,  see  Ps.  Ixvii. 
1.  The  countenance  of  the  Lord  lightens  upon  every  one  when 
He  reveals  to  them  His  grace,  as  this  last  is  expressly  added. 
In  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  He  has  personally  revealed  His 
grace  in  the  Angel  of  the  covenant,  the  Mediator  also  of  the 
N.  T. :  cf.  Exod.  xxxiii.  14,  note. 

Ver.  26.  Lift  up. — The  "  lifting  up  of  the  countenance  on  any 
one  "  expresses  an  actual  powerful  working  of  the  personal  God 
on  this  man.  In  "  making  His  countenance  shine  on  any  one,'' 
He  remains  standing  before  him,  although  as  the  Gracious  One ; 
in  "  lifting  up  His  countenance  on  him,"  He  works  on  him  or 
in  him.  The  same  expression  occurs,  as  spoken  of  God's  anger, 
Jer.  xxi.  10,  ch.  xliv.  11.     But  what  is  added  shows,  that  as  in 


462  NUMBEKS  VII.  9,  11  ;    VIII.  2-7. 

this  blessing  the  gracious  countenance  of  God  shines  on  man,  so 
is  it  lifted  up  upon  him  in  order  to  give  to  him  peace,  the  essence 
of  all  blessing  to  sinful,  fighting,  struggling  man. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Ver.  9.  Bear. — Cf.  ch.  iv.  15.  All  their  burden  might  not  be 
drawn,  but  must  be  carried. 

Ver.  11.  Dedicating. — Cf.  Exod.  xxv.  21,  22.  This  is  repeated 
here,  in  order  to  sbow  that  notwithstanding  these  gifts,  with  which 
the  people  in  the  person  of  their  princes  drew  near  to  God,  yet 
Moses  still  remained  the  mediator  between  God  and  the  people 
in  the  old  way. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Ver.  2.  Lightest. — The  office  of  lighting  the  lamps  is  here- 
by expressly  conferred  on  Aaron,  while,  Exod.  xxvii.  21,  the 
general  care  of  the  tabernacle  is  only  spoken  about. 

Ver.  5. — The  tribe  of  Levi,  which  had  already  been  set  apart  in 
the  ordering  of  the  camp,  and  placed  in  the  middle,  now  receives 
here  its  consecration.  It  is  severed  from  the  rest  of  the  people ; 
the  office  conferred  on  it,  which  it  has  to  perform,  but  which  it 
dare  not  undertake  without  express  consecration ;  and  it  is  ap- 
pointed to  assist  Aaron  and  his  sons  as  their  ministers.  A  cere- 
mony similar  to  the  consecration  of  priests  (Exod.  xxix.)  is  per- 
formed. It  consists  of  an  ablution,  a  dovible  act  of  sacrifice,  and 
a  waving  of  the  sacrifice. 

Ver.  7.  Water  of  purifying. — Atoning  water  as  "sin-offering;" 
a  sacrifice  betokening  the  taking  away  of  sin. 

Shave. — So  the  Egyptian  priests,  for  the  sake  of  purification, 
shaved  off  every  hair  from  their  body. —  WusIl  their  clothes.  The 
washing  was  a  kind  of  external,  preliminary  purification,  before 
the  deeper  and  more  entire  one  through  the  sin-offering :  Exod. 
xxix.  1.     The  washing  of  the  clothes  in  the  case  of  the  Levites 


NUMBERS  Vril.  10-25  ;    IX.  403 

corresponds  with  the  putting  on  of  their  robes  by  the  priests  : 
Exod.  xxix.  5. 

Ver.  10.  Upon  the  Levites. — As  upon  the  sacrificial  gift :  cf. 
Lev.  i.  4,  note. 

Ver.  1 1.   Of  er.— Wave  :  cf.  Lev.  vii.  34. 

Ver.  12.  Atonement. — For  the  cleansing  from  their  sins  and 
offering  of  them  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  19.  U7ito  the  sanctuary. — The  atonement  takes  place  by- 
means  of  a  covering  of  sin.  The  unsanctified  people  would  in  the 
service  of  the  sanctuary  have  had  to  suffer  the  punishment  for 
their  sins ;  but  the  Lord  allows  to  be  presented  to  Him  by  them 
the  tribe  of  Levi,  which  covers  their  sins.  Thus,  on  a  later  occa- 
sion, Phinehas  atoned  for  the  people  :  ch.  xxv.  13.  The  offering 
of  the  Levites  in  place  of  the  first-born  is  distinguished  from  the 
sacrifice  (Exod.  xiii.)  for  the  same  by  this,  that  the  sacrifice  did 
not  offer  to  the  Lord  any  especial  compensation  for  the  service 
of  the  first-born.  The  Levites  afforded  this  once  for  all,  while 
in  addition  the  sacrifice  continued,  that  it  might  never  be  for- 
gotten that  the  first-born  must  be  offered  to  the  Lord  for  the 
whole  people. 

Ver.  24.   Tabernacle. — Cf.  ch.  iv.  3,  note. 

Ver.  25.  Se^^ve  no  more ;  i.e.,  shall  be  free  to  serve  no  more. 
According  to  Jewish  tradition,  this  command  related  merely  to 
the  service  in  the  wilderness.  In  Canaan,  on  the  contrary,  they 
were  not  free  therefi'om. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

It  appears  that  for  the  celebrating  of  the  Passover  in  the 
wilderness  an  especial  revelation  was  on  this  account  necessary^ 
because  on  its  establishment  the  festival  was  expressly  intended 
for  the  land  of  Canaan  (Exod.  xii.  25),  as  afterwards  no  Pass- 
over was  celebrated  in  the  wilderness.  Now,  because  on  the 
Passover  the  continuance  of  the  covenant  with  God  depended, 
a  question  connected  with  it  was  this — What  were  they  to  do 
who  were  hindered  by  reason  of  unclcanness  ?  and  for  them  a 
formal  particular  after-festival  was  commanded. 


4G4  NUMBERS  IX.  13-22  ;  X,  2-9. 

Ver.  13.  Appointed  time. — It  is  clear  from  this  and  from  ver. 
13,  that  the  Passover  was  a  proper  sacrifice,  and  therefore  the 
paschal  meats,  the  meats  of  the  sacrifice. 

Ver.  15.  Testimony. —  So  is  the  Most  Holy  called  in  a  narrower 
sense,  because  the  testimony  was  kept  therein.  On  this  rested 
the  cloud,  as  also  from  thence  Moses  received  the  Divine  com- 
mands :  ch.  vii.  89. 

Of  fire.— CL  Exod.  xiii.  22,  note. 

Ver.  19.  Kept  the  charge. — Heb.,  "  they  observed  the  ob- 
servance of  the  Lord ;"  i.e.,  they  performed  the  service  of  sacrifice 
as  prescribed  by  Moses,  which  had  necessarily  been  interrupted 
during  the  march.  When  the  cloud  rested  only  a  short  time, 
the  tabernacle  was  not  pitched. 

Ver.  20.  A  few  days. — Heb.,  "  days  of  number" — days  which 
could  be  counted ;  i.e.,  a  few  days. 

Ver.  22.  Or  a  year. — Heb.,  "  days  ;"  i.e.,  not  easily  counted, 
an  indefinite  Ions  time. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Lord  Himself  appoints  the  preparation  of  the  trumpets 
by  which  the  different  signals  for  the  people  were  to  be  given, 
that  in  all  which  they  did  as  a  people,  they  might  have  the 
certainty  they  stood  under  God's  immediate  guidance.  Every 
assembling  of  the  people  or  of  the  council,  every  expedition  in 
war,  was  thereby  marked  as  holy. 

Ver.  2.  Of  a  whole  piece. — Heb. :  "  Thou  shalt  make  them 
turned  (rounded)  of  silver." 

Ver.  5.  Bloio  an  alarm. — Lit.,  "  a  broken  (extended)  sound." 

Ver.  7.  Ye  shall  Mow. — As  ver.  3,  a  short  sound. 

Ver.  8.  Generatiojis. — Not  the  princes.  The  Lord  Himself 
was  the  Ruler.  At  His  command  His  immediate  servants 
did  it. 

Ver.  9.  From  your  enemies. — As  when  God  saw  the  rainbow 
He  will  remember  His  covenant  with  men  (cf.  Gen.  ix.  17, 
note),  in  like  manner  will  He  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpets 
remember  His  people  ;  i.e.,  the  blowing  of  the  trumpets  was  to 


NUMBERS  X.  10-36.  465 

Le  no  mere  human  signal,  but,  as  resting  on  a  Divine  appoint- 
ment, a  pledge  and  a  channel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

Ver.  10.  Before  your  God. — As  it  were  for  the  confirmation 
of  their  act  of  worship.  Just  as  the  ascending  smoke  of  the 
sacrifice  was  "  a  sweet  savour,"  so  was  this  an  awakening  sound, 
in  order  to  remind  God  of  His  covenant.  This  mode  of  ex- 
pression after  the  manner  of  men  is  explained,  Gen.  ix.  17. 

Ver.  21.  Af/ainst  they  came. — Therefore,  in  the  march,  the 
Gershonites  and  Merarites  go  before  with  the  poles,  etc.,  of  the 
tabernacle,  behind  the  camp  of  Judah ;  the  Kohathites  follow 
after  lleubcn,  in  order  that  the  tabernacle  might  be  pitched 
before  they  arrived  Avith  the  sacred  vessels,  and  that  these  might 
not  remain  in  the  open  air,  but  as  soon  as  possible  be  brought 
into  the  tabernacle. 

Ver.  29.  Midianite. — Cf.  Exod.  ii.  16,  note. 

Ver.  .32.  Unto  thee. — Notwithstanding  the  pillar  of  the  cloud 
showed  them  the  wa}^,  yet  Hobab's  guidance  miglit  be  of  essential 
consequence  to  them.  The  pillar  of  the  cloud  indeed  gave  the 
signal  for  marching,  and  afforded  a  general  direction  as  to  the 
route ;  but  in  the  wilderness,  intersected  by  mountains  and  valleys, 
the  tribes  must  certainly  disperse  in  quest  of  springs  of  water. 
We  find  even  in  the  case  of  the  manna,  that  in  collecting  it  the 
activity  and  diligence  of  the  people  were  not  dispensed  with 
(cf.  Exod.  xvi.  5,  note) :  how  much  more  must  this  be  the  case 
in  respect  to  water,  for  which  no  provision  was  made  by  any  like 
regular  supply ! 

Ver.  34.  Out  of  the  camp. — It  seems  that  the  cloudy  pillar 
especially  stood  over  the  ark  of  the  covenant  and  moved  with  it, 
but  likewise  during  the  march  spread  itself  as  a  defence  over  the 
host.  In  like  manner,  it  is  allowable  to  suppose  that  the  pillar 
of  fire  by  night  diffused  a  radiance  over  the  host,  so  that  they 
all  had  it,  not  merely  as  a  guiding  token,  but  as  a  light  on 
their  way. 

Ver.  36.  Thousands  of  Israel. — Moses  uttered  a  prayer  of 
faith  both  in  the  marching  and  at  the  standing  still.  It  was  at 
once  a  petition  from  the  mouth  of  the  mediator  of  the  covenant, 
and  contained  at  the  same  time  an  earnest  encouran-ement  to  the 
people  themselves,  reminding  them  of  their  entire  dependence 
on  God. 


2g 


466  NUMBERS  XI.  1,  3. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


The  people  of  Israel  now  break  up  from  Sinai.  There  were 
two  roads  to  Canaan  :  the  one  runs  along  the  iElanitic  Gulf,  but 
this  is  unsuitable  to  the  march  of  a  large  host,  on  account  of  its 
narrowness  and  the  proximity  of  the  mountains  to  the  coast ; 
the  other  leads  through  an  inhospitable  desert,  et-Tih.  "  From 
the  mountain  of  the  same  name,  the  land,  which  is  composed  of 
chalk,  gypsum,  and  flint,  falls  off  into  uniform  terraces  towards 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  into  which  its  waters  in  the  rainy  season 
flow — the  most  horrible  and  melancholy  of  all  wildernesses." — 
(Laborde.)  As  in  the  list  of  the  stations  (ch.  xxxiii.  16),  there  is 
only  mention  of  one  place,  "the  graves  of  lust"  (Kibroth-hattaa- 
vah),  it  appears  that  Taberah  is  one  and  the  same  with  it. — While 
the  people  were  receiving  the  law  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai, 
peace  had  altogether  prevailed.  Fear  in  the  presence  of  the 
wonders  which  were  seen  on  the  holy  mount — the  punishment 
which  followed  immediately  on  contempt  being  shown  towards 
them — the  comparatively  more  lovely  and  fertile  region  in 
which  they  then  were, — tliese  might  have  been  motives  so  far  to 
restrain  the  outbreaks  of  fleshly  lust.  But  hardly  had  they  set 
out  on  their  march  to  the  Promised  Land,  when  their  perverse, 
unsubdued,  carnal  mind  is  once  again  roused.  This  time  it  does 
not  break  out  against  the  Lord  Himself,  and  so  proceed  to  open 
apostasy  and  idolatry ;  but  it  is  expressed  against  His  dealings 
with  them,  against  the  kind  and  degree  of  that  food  which  He 
provided  for  them  on  the  way.  This  is  the  commencement  of  a 
long  series  of  temptings  of  God. 

Ver.  1.  Complained. — Lit. ;  "  And  the  people  were  as  evil- 
complainers  in  the  ears  of  the  Lord."  The  reason  is  not  here 
given.  It  was  a  general  discontent,  dissatisfaction  with  the  pro- 
vidences of  God. 

Of  the  camp. — By  "  the  fire  of  the  Lord"  we  are  most  likely 
to  understand  lightning,  as  often  ;  especially  Lev.  x.  2.  The 
"  end  of  the  camp"  (so  literally)  is  the  extreme  border  of  it ; 
wliere,  perhaps,  the  lightning  fell  among  the  circumjacent  bushes, 
and  consumed  a  number  of  tents  before  it  could  be  extinguished. 
Ver.  3.  Taberah;  i.e.,  a  burning.     The  chastisement  just  nar- 


NUMBERS  XI.  4-15.  407 

rated  was  a  light  warning,  meant  to  check  at  tlie  outset  the  evil 
disposition  of  the  people.  The  murmuring  now  took  a  more 
distinct  direction — it  was  aroused  by  a  craving  desire  after 
change  and  variety  of  food.  The  manna  had  a  pleasant  taste, 
an  agreeable  appearance,  it  was  a  direct  gift  from  God  ;  but  it 
wanted  the  flavour  which  imparts  its  piquancy  to  human  viands, 
and  which  men  long  after  in  this  restless,  sinful,  changing  life. 
What  a  wonderful  type  of  that  of  Avhich  the  manna  generally 
was  intended  to  remind  us  (Exod.  xvi.) — the  moral  and  spiritual 
nourishment  imparted  in  God's  revelation,  both  by  His  Word 
and  His  Providence  !  And  quite  as  remarkable  is  the  issue  of 
this  history.  Moses,  as  ever  faithful  in  his  intercession,  receives, 
on  his  complaining  that  the  burden  was  too  heavy  for  him,  a 
council  of  seventy  elders  to  assist  him,  who  were  endued  with 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  the  people  also  receive  what  they  desire.  But 
after  God  has  showed  them  what  He  is  able  to  do.  He  changes, 
by  a  chastisement  annexed  to  the  gift,  the  blessing  into  a  curse. 
Tims  does  the  kingdom  of  God  proceed  to  develop  itself,  as 
much  furthered  by  man's  sinfulness  as  by  the  prevailing  inter- 
cession of  the  servants  of  God. 

Ver.  4.  Mixed  multitude. — The  mixed  rabble  which  had 
marched  with  them  out  of  Egypt  (Exod.  xli.  o8).  The  murmur- 
ing proceeded  first  from  these,  but  soon  spread  among  the  people. 

Ver.  5.  GarUch. — In  all  these  productions  Egypt  was,  and 
indeed  In  a  measure  still  is,  remarkably  rich. 

Ver.  9.  Fell  upon  it. — This  account  of  the  manna  here  in- 
serted, is  intended,  by  describing  its  beauty  and  pleasantness,  to 
show  in  stronger  colours  the  unthankfulness  of  the  people.  It 
was  like  to  the  fine,  elegant  coriander-seed  ;  it  resembled  the 
beautiful,  fragrant  bdellium  (cf.  Gen.  ii.  12,  note)  ;  it  could  be 
prepared  in  many  ways  ;  but,  what  was  the  main  thing,  it  was 
an  immediate  gift  from  Heaven.  But  all  this  was  insufficient  to 
stay  the  longing  desire  after  food  more  stimulating  to  the  appetite. 

Ver.  12.  Xui-siu (J  father ;  as  a  lulling  mother. 

Ver.  15.  Wretchedness. — The  Lord  permits  even  the  stronger 
language  of  dissatisfaction  in  His  servant,  as  already  before 
(Exod.  xxxii.  11).  The  wish  to  die  was  certainly  a  despairing, 
and  therefore  a  sinful  wish.  But  God  Avould  rather  that  Plis 
servants  should  lay  open  before  Him,  in  their  prayers,  even  such 
unholy  movements  of  their  heart,  than  that  they  should  express 


4G8  NUMBERS  XT.  17-25. 

tlieir  sorrow  in  any  other  way.  In  no  way  can  this  hidden  sin  of 
murmuring,  of  fear,  of  despondency,  be  so  completely  removed 
as  by  making  it  known  to  the  merciful  and  gracious  One — by 
declaring  to  Him  that  we  cannot  understand  His  unsearchable 
ways.  To  complain  to  Him  is  already  the  beginning  of  a  return 
of  faith  and  confidence  :  cf.  Gen.  xviii.  32,  note. 

Yer.  17.  Thyself  alone. — We  here  find  the  first  beginning  of  a 
prophetic  office  among  the  people  of  Israel.  While  the  priests 
were  instituted  to  their  office  by  an  outward  consecration,  and 
the  council  appointed  at  Jethro's  advice  was  only  a  judicial 
tribunal  in  human  affairs,  these  elders  received  at  their  calling 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  immediately  manifests  itself  in  the  gift 
of  prophecy.  It  is  expressly  said  that  they  received  of  JSIoses' 
spirit,  in  order  to  betoken  their  necessary  union  with  him.  That 
these  elders  formed  a  permanent  corporation,  which  afterwards 
was  continued  in  the  high  council,  the  sanhedrim,  is  neither 
here  said  nor  does  it  appear  afterwards.  But  we  have  the  first 
trace  of  a  connected  society  of  prophets,  such  as  was  in  later 
times  still  further  carried  out  by  Samuel. 

Ver.  18.  Eat  flesh. — The  flesh  was  a  Divine  gift  :  in  order  to 
be  able  to  receive  it  aright  the  people  must  sanctify  themselves,  - 
as  they  came  by  means  of  it  in  direct  contact  with  God.     See 
Exod.  xix.  10,  note. 

Ver.  20.  Wept  before  Him. — The  gift  itself  shall  become  a 
punishment  to  you ;  the  sinful  lust  shall,  by  its  very  gratifica- 
tion, become  a  pain. 

Ver.  22.  To  sufice  them. — We  find  here  quite  a  similar  oc- 
currence with  what  took  place  in  the  case  of  the  feeding  of  the 
4000,  where  the  disciples  had  altogether  forgotten  the  former 
miracle  (cf.  St  Matt,  xv.),  just  as  Moses  here  forgot  the  former 
sending  of  quails  (Exod.  xvi.  13).  Here,  however,  there  was 
this  in  addition,  that  the  first  miracle  only  had  in  view  to  feed 
the  people  once  in  a  way ;  but  in  the  present  case,  to  supply 
them  with  provision  for  a  long  while. 

Ver.  25.  They  2^t'ophesied. — The  prophesying  took  place  by 
their  being  raised  to  a  condition  of  soul  in  which  their  lower 
mental  faculties  were  kept  bound,  and  the  higher  ones  fitted  to 
receive  more  fully  the  revelations  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  In  this 
condition  the  inspired  person  spake  words  of  exhortation  or 
poured  forth  devotions,  of  Avhich  he  was  incapable  in  the  ordinary 


NUMBERS  XI.  2G-33.  4G9 

circnmstanccs  of  life ;  and  even  the  bodily  gestures  bore  witness 
to  what  was  inwardly  taking  place.  Cf.  especially  2  Sam.  xix. 
20-24.  We  are  by  no  means  compelled  to  suppose  that  this 
inward  change  befell  the  elders  of  a  sudden.  No  doubt  Moses 
chose  out  such  of  the  elders  as  had  not  taken  part  in  the  out- 
break of  the  people. 

]Ji.d  not  cease. — Ileb.,  "and  did  not  add  thereto;"  i.e.,  the 
prophesying  was  not  again  afterwards  repeated.  This  gift  was 
displayed  in  them  only  on  this  occasion,  in  order  to  invest  them 
with  a  sacred  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  The  same  was 
the  case  in  the  early  days  of  Christianity,  when,  on  the  laying 
on  of  hands  after  baptism,  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  manifested 
themselves  in  every  one,  which  afterwards  were  repeated  only  in 
the  case  of  a  very  few. 

Ver.  26.  In  the  camp. — On  this  occasion,  also,  it  was  intended 
to  be  shown  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  bound  to  no  human 
order,  but  acts  as  He  lists.  So  it  was  in  the  instance  of  the  pre- 
ference of  Jacob  before  Esau,  of  Ephraim  before  Manasseh  ;  so 
was  it  instanced  in  the  case  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  be- 
fore baptism  in  the  house  of  Cornelius  (Acts  x.  47). 

Ver.  28.  Forbid  him. — In  a  similar  spirit  with  John  (St  Mark 
ix.  38). 

Ver.  29.  His  Spirit  upon  them. — Moses,  who  himself  possesses 
the  greatest  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  is  likewise  on  that  account  the 
most  liberal:  for,  "where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  there  is 
liberty."'  He  recognises  in  this  free  pouring  out  of  the  gift  a 
prophetic  sign,  that  the  whole  people  of  God  will  some  time  be 
partakers  of  it. 

Ver.  30.  Elders  of  Israel. — They  all  came  together. 

Ver.  3L  Quails. — The  same  as  was  given  to  the  people, 
Exod.  xvi. 

Ver.  32.  Ten  homers, — An  homer  contains  about  two  cubic 
feet ;  therefore  a  rich  measure  for  one  mouth. 

Ver.  33.  Very  great  plague. — The  outward  gift  was  here, 
therefore,  no  pledge  of  the  Divine  favour ;  just  as  it  often  hap- 
pens that  a  wish,  which  has  long  been  perversely  and  eagerly 
cherished,  when  in  the  providence  of  God  it  is  brought  to  pass, 
brings  with  it  at  the  same  time  a  judgment  of  God. 


470  NUMBERS  XII.  1-7. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

To  these  first  outbreaks  of  the  people,  tlirough  their  lust  of 
flesh,  are  added  the  still  more  dangerous  one  resulting  from 
ambition.  But  what  must  have  proved  the  greatest  trial  to 
Moses  was,  that  they  began  among  his  own  relations,  who  had 
been  deemed  worthy  with  himself  of  so  much  higher  favour,  but 
who  on  that  account  presumed  to  think  they  could  be  raised 
above  him.  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the  first  among  the  Israel- 
itish  women  (Exod.  xv.  20,  21),  is  the  prime  mover  of  the 
sedition ;  and  Aaron,  who  on  every  occasion  showed  himself 
weak,  followed  her.  The  trial,  however,  ends  in  the  greater 
glorification  of  ]\Ioses,  and  in  a  clear  distinction  of  that  which 
was  peculiarly  his  own  above  all  other  prophets,  and  in  the  deep 
humiliation  of  Miriam. 

Ver.  1.  Etldopian  ivoman. — Lit.,  "  since  he  had  taken  a 
Cushite."  Zipporah  was  a  Midianite,  and  so  not  of  Cushite 
descent.  She  can,  therefore,  here  hardly  be  intended.  After 
her  death  (for,  since  polygamy  was  discountenanced  by  the  law, 
it  is  hardly  likely  that  Moses  practised  it,  especially  when  ad- 
vanced in  life),  he  had  taken  a  wife  of  a  Cushite  descent,  no 
doubt  designedly,  in  order  by  this  example  to  foreshadow  the 
future  union  of  Israel  with  the  most  distant  heathen.  ]\Iiriam 
and  Aaron,  who  did  not  understand  this,  treated  him  with  luost 
foolish  scorn  on  that  account. 

Ver.  2.  Also  In/  us. — Regarding  that  marriage  as  a  blot  on 
him,  they  wished  to  degrade  Moses  as  a  prophet,  and  to  elevate 
themselves. 

Ver.  3.  Very  meek. — Moses  here  says  of  himself  what  Christ 
with  still  greater  truth  said,  St  Matt.  xi.  29.  By  mentioning 
this  in  connection  with  the  history,  he  would  intimate  that  he 
did  nothing  to  justify,  far  less  to  avenge  himself,  but  committed 
his  cause  entirely  to  the  Lord.  He  did  this  so  fully  that  he  is 
able  calmly  to  relate,  as  a  fact  M'ith  which  he  had  nothing  to  do, 
Avhat  was  necessary  for  a  full  understanding  of  the  narrative. 
To  this  utter  silence  and  patience  of  Moses  the  sudden  inter- 
ference of  the  Lord  is  a  striking  counterpart. 

Ver.  7.  In  all  Mine  house. — To  whom  I  commit  My  whole 


NUMBERS  XII.  8.  471 

liousc,  and  no  particular  office  therein  ;  and  he  is  a  faithful  steward 
in  it :  cf  Heb.  iii.  2. 

Ver.  8.  Shall  he  behold.— TAt. :  "  I  speak  mouth  to  mouth  with 
him,  and  not  in  riddles  (parables) ;  and  he  beholds  the  face  of  the 
Lord."  In  the  revelations  made  to  the  other  jirophets,  whose 
commission  referred  to  some  particular  subject,  the  powers  of 
their  souls  were  fettered,  and  an  image  or  a  parabolic  saying  was 
presented  to  their  spirit :  Moses,  on  the  other  hand,  was  raised 
to  that  condition  in  which  he  could  clearly  understand  the  things 
revealed  to  him.  lie  beheld  them  "apparently,"  Avithout  the 
help  of  any  intervention.  That  to  "  behold  the  similitude  of  the 
Lord  "  is  said  only  comparatively,  is  plain  from  Exod.  xxxiii.  20 ; 
cf.  the  note  tliere.  This  distinction  is  thus  explained  by  the 
Rabbins  : — "  It  is  a  fundamental  principle  in  our  law  that  God 
vouchsafes  the  gift  of  prophecy  to  the  children  of  men  ;  but  that 
the  gift  of  prophecy  only  rests  on  a  man  who  is  great  in  wisdom, 
mighty  in  virtue,  so  that  in  no  particular  do  his  desires  domi- 
neer over  him.  In  such  a  man  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells,  and 
his  soul  has  communion  with  the  ano;els,  and  he  becomes  a 
different  man  :  1  Sam.  x.  6.  The  prophets  were  different  in 
degrees,  as  one  wise  man  is  greater  than  another.  All  saw  their 
visions  only  in  a  dream  or  a  nightly  apparition,  or  in  the  day- 
time when  a  deep  sleep  had  fallen  on  them  ;  and  when  they 
prophesied  their  limbs  trembled,  and  their  bodily  strength  sank, 
and  their  thoughts  became  restless,  and  their  spirit  was  with- 
drawn, as  it  is  said  of  Abraham  (Gen.  xv.  12)  and  of  Daniel 
(x.  8).  The  things  revealed  were  given  in  parables,  and,  to- 
gether with  tliem,  the  explanation  was  written  in  their  hearts. 
So  Jacob's  ladder  to  heaven  (Gen.  xxviii.  12),  so  the  beasts  of 
Ezekiel  (ch.  i.),  the  seething-pot  and  the  rod  of  Jeremiah,  etc., 
all  propliesied  in  figures  and  dark  words.  No  prophet  pro- 
phesied at  every  time  and  when  he  would  ;  but  they  prepared 
themselves  for  it  with  joyfulness  of  heart,  and  with  meditation, 
and  with  psalteries  and  harps  (1  Sam.  x.  5).  And  when  they 
had  prepared  themselves  it  came  upon  them,  and  at  times  also  it 
did  not  come  upon  them.  This  holds  good  of  all  the  prophets, 
witli  the  exception  of  Moses.  All  prophesied  through  dreams 
and  visions ;  but  Moses  waking  and  standing  (ch,  vii.  89). 
All  prophesied  through  angels,  therefore  they  saw  their  counte- 
nances in  likenesses  and  dark  words  ;  but  Moses   without  this. 


472  NUMBERS  XII.  10-15  ;    XIII. 

He  knew  Divine  tilings.  All  the  rest  were  terrified  ;  but  God 
spake  to  Moses  as  a  man  speaks  to  liis  friend  (Exod.  xxxiii.  11). 
All  the  rest  did  not  prophesy  continually  ;  but  Moses  was  at 
every  time  when  he  wished  endued  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  he 
had  no  need  to  prepare  himself  beforehand ;  but  he  stood  like 
the  ministering  angels  before  God,  as  it  is  said,  '  Stand  still,  and 
I  will  hear  what  the  Lord  will  command'  "  (ch.  ix.  8).  Even  in 
all  this  Moses  was  a  type  of  the  Mediator  of  the  N.  T. ;  since, 
Avhile  all  the  above  can  only  be  said  comparatively  of  Moses,  it 
is  absolutely  true  only  of  Christ. 

Ver.  10.  White  as  snoio. — The  leprosy  befell  Miriam  here  as 
the  most  terrible,  direct  Divine  scourge  for  an  offence  committed 
against  the  Lord  and  against  His  holy  servant :  cf.  Lev.  xiii., 
introd. 

Ver.  12.  Mother  s  womb. — Heb. :  "  That  she  be  not  as  a  dead 
person,  from  whom,  as  he  comes  out  of  his  mother's  w^omb, 
already  the  half  of  his  flesh  is  eaten  " — as  an  already  corrupt  still- 
born child,  the  extreme  of  impurity  and  nullity. — The  punish- 
ment is  inflicted  on  Miriam  as  the  instigator;  in  Aaron  the 
priesthood  is  spared  and  reverenced,  but  he  feels  that,  neverthe- 
less, he  is  a  participator  in  the  punishment,  and  confesses  his  own 
sin  together  with  hers. 

Ver.  14.  If  her  father. — If  an  earthly  father  had  done  this  and 
must  be  ashamed,  how  much  more  it,  etc.  etc. 

Ver.  15.  Seven  days. — The  exclusion  of  the  leper  lasted  this 
time,  for  the  proving  whether  he  were  cured  or  not:  Lev.  xiii.  4,  5. 


CHAPTER  XHI. 

Here  we  arrive  at  an  important  crisis  in  the  history  of  the 
Israelites.  They  had  often  tempted  God,  and  He  has  chastised 
them  with  a  moderate,  though,  it  may  be,  marked  visitation ;  but 
now  came  the  trial  which  should  determine  whether  they  who 
were  come  out  of  Egypt  have  a  personal  interest  in  the  promises, 
or  were  to  leave  them  to  their  successors — whether  they  should 
march  at  once  into  the  Promised  Land  and  take  possession  of  it, 
or  should  die  on  their  long,  wearisome,  and  dangerous  wander- 


NUMBERS  XIII.  lG-2].  473 

ings  in  tlio  wilderness.  And  herein  also  is  the  guidance  of 
Israel  an  image  of  similar  critical  periods  in  the  life  of  nations 
and  of  individuals — whom  God  desires  to  lead  by  less  rugged 
roads,  and  liad  begun  to  do  so,  until  some  necessary  trial,  under 
which  they  fail,  clearly  manifests  to  them  that  they  require  a 
more  severe  mode  of  dealing.  According  to  Deut.  i.  'li^  the 
whole  people  first  desired  Closes  to  send  spies  to  Canaan,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  command  of  the  Lord  here  mentioned  is  a 
granting  of  their  ]ietition.  Although  He  might  have  required 
of  them  to  trust  unconditionally  Ilis  word  without  using  this 
plan,  still  lie  makes  a  concession  to  their  weakness,  so  long  as  it 
does  not  dis])lay  unbelieving  opposition  to  His  will.  But  they 
do  not  know  themselves  what  they  ask  ;  since,  when  God  grants 
their  wish,  they  lose  sight  of  the  truth  of  God  and  His  almighty 
guidance  in  the  human  means  which  they  employed.  They  thus 
place  themselves  in  conscious  opposition  to  God,  which  they 
carry  so  far,  that  they  would  prefer  to  return  back  into  Egyptian 
bondage  rather  than  undergo  the  trouble  and  the  perils  of  con- 
quering the  Promised  Land. 

Ver.  1(5.  Jehosltua. — His  flimily,  see  1  Chron.  viii.  27. — Hoshea 
signifies  "  help;"  Jehoshua  (for  so  is  the  word  fully),  "Jehovah 
helps."  The  first  servant  of  Moses,  the  future  accomplisher  of 
so  great  undertakings,  was  by  his  very  name  to  be  placed  in  a 
distinct  relation  to  the  covenant  people  of  Israel. 

Ver.  20.  What  the  land  is. — God  had  already  long  ago,  by 
His  promises,  repeatedly  and  expressly  spoken  about  most  of 
these  things,  so  that  no  inquiry  seemed  to  be  necessary.  Still 
]\foses  would  not  curtail  their  liberty.  They  should  learn  from 
their  own  experience  the  truth  of  God. 

Ver.  21.  llamath. — The  wilderness  Zin  is  the  part  of  the  wil- 
derness Paran  which  adjoins  Canaan.  The  most  natural  sup- 
position is,  that  the  stations  in  the  wilderness  which  are  mentioned 
ch.  xxxiii.  16-3G,  ftiU  in  the  time  before  the  return  of  the  spies 
and  the  events  at  Cadesh-barnea.  Like  the  nomadic  Arab  tribes 
of  the  present  day,  the  people  wander  from  one  stream  and  pas- 
ture to  another,  and  halt  in,  altogether,  twenty-one  difterent 
places  before  they  arrive  at  the  south  boundary  of  Canaan  at 
Cadesh,  where  they  again  receive  the  spies.  From  this  point 
the  sacred  history  is  altogether  silent  respecting  the  journeyings 
in  the  wilderness;  the  stations  are  not  again  named ;  and  we  find, 


474  NUMBERS  XIII.  22-33. 

after  tliirty-eight  years,  the  people  once  more  at  Cadesh,  but 
now  no  longer  for  the  pui-pose  of  pressing  into  Canaan,  but  in 
order  by  negotiations  to  obtain  the  way  through  the  land  of 
the  Edomitcs. — "  Rchob"  or  Rechob  lies  (according  to  Joshua 
xix.  28 ;  Judges  i.  31)  in  the  part  of  the  land  which  afterwards 
fell  to  the  lot  of  the  tribe  of  Aser,  not  far  from  Sidon,  on  the 
north-west  end  of  the  land.  Hamath  is  the  well-known  Syrian 
town  on  the  east  of  Lebanon,  the  northern  end  of  Canaan. 

Ver.  22.  Hebron. — The  old  town  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
which  Abraham  lived,  Gen.  xiii.  18. 

Zoan  in  Egypt. — Zoan — by  the  Greeks,  Tanis — in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Lower  Egypt,  on  a  branch  of  the  Nile,  the 
capital  of  the  Pharaohs  of  that  day,  was  abovit  seven  years 
younger  than  this  oldest  city  of  Canaan. 

Ver.  24.  Brook  Eschcol;  i.e.,  Cluster  of  grapes  brook.  Even 
now,  when  the  cultivation  of  the  land  has  been  so  much  ne- 
glected, are  found  bunches  of  grapes  from  ten  to  twelve  pounds 
weight. 

Ver.  26.  Kadesh. — Kadesh  was  situated  on  the  borders  of  the 
land  of  Edom  (ch.  xx.  19),  on  the  south  extremity  of  Canaan, 
not  far  from  the  Dead  Sea.  The  people  of  Israel  had  therefore 
passed  through  the  modern  Wady-el-Arabah  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion towards  Canaan,  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountain-range  of 
Seir  :  cf.  Gen.  xxvii.  39,  note. 

Ver.  29.  Coast  of  Jordan. — All  parts  of  the  land  are  strongly 
peopled  and  defended. 

Ver.  30.  Before  Moses. — As  at  the  terrible  news  brought  by  the 
spies  dissatisfaction  was  immediately  expressed  against  Moses. 

Ver.  33.  Eateth  iip  the  inhabitants ;  i.e.,  The  inhabitants  of  the 
lands  must  be  continually  armed,  as  they  are  exposed  to  the  un- 
ceasing attacks  of  their  neighbours,  and  cannot  even  thus  defend 
themselves  from  them.  We  know,  in  fact,  that  before  the  incur- 
sion of  the  Israelites  the  Philistines  had  come  from  Caphthor 
(Crete)  and  subdued  the  Avites  (Deut.  ii.  20)  ;  and  in  like 
manner  the  Amorites  had  conquered  all  the  land  of  the  Moab- 
ites  as  far  as  Anion.  In  later  times,  also,  the  country  continued 
to  be  the  scene  of  unceasing  small  and  great  wars,  which  was, 
indeed,  inseparable  from  its  position.  Such  was  the  place  which 
Israel  was  destined  to  maintain,  and  from  which  unbelief  would 
fain  make  it  draw  back  in  terror. 


numbp:rs  XIII.  33 ;  xiv.  4-22.  475 

Ver.  33.  In  their  sight. — A  particular  large  race  of  men  really 
dwelt  there,  though,  from  the  exaggerations  of  the  spies,  nothing 
can  be  drawn  with  certainty. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Ver.  4.  Return  into  Egypt. — The  most  determined  rebellious 
attempt  of  all  which  had  as  yet  taken  place,  that  they  should 
purpose  to  return  into  Egypt  under  another  leader ;  unmindful 
of  their  former  bondage  there,  and  of  the  severe  fate  which, 
without  doubt,  awaited  them  if  they  went  back. 

Ver.  5.  Fell  on  their  faces,  in  prayer. 

Ver.  9.  Their  defence. — "  Their  shadow  " — the  defence  of 
God's  long-suffering,  which  had  hitherto  been  accorded  them. 
They  are  now  subjects  for  the  justice  of  God.  If  we  consider 
that  the  extermination  of  this  people  took  place  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  Israelites  when  the  measure  of  their 
iniquity  was  full  (Gen.  xv.  16),  the  signs  of  this  might  be  ob- 
servable to  the  spies  even  in  the  breaking  up  of  their  internal 
condition. 

Ver.  14.   Of  this  land. — Arabia. 

Ver.  17.  Be  great. — In  order  to  bring  the  people  into  their 
land,  ver.  1 6, — not,  the  power  of  Thy  mercy.  The  connection 
with  what  follows  is  this — "  Suffer  this  people  still  longer  for  Thy 
mercy's  sake,  and  now  let  Thy  whole  power  be  shown  mightily 
among  them." 

Ver.  18.  Fourth  generation. — See  Exod.  xxxiv.  7,  where  also 
the  particular  words  are  explained. 

Ver.  22.  According  to  Thy  word. — It  is  wonderful  that  the 
Lord  can  have  forgiven  the  people  even  while  He  threatens  so 
fearfully  to  punish  them.  But  we  must  remember  that  threaten- 
ing and  ])unishment  related  to  the  people  as  a  body  far  more  than 
to  individuals.  The  Lord  had  threatened  (ver.  12)  to  destroy 
the  whole  people,  and  to  cancel  altogether  His  covenant  with 
them.  This  it  is  which  lie  withdraws.  But  besides  this.  His 
long-suffering  is  still  vouchsafed  to  the  guilty,  that  the  Lord  does 


476  NUMBERS  XIV.  22-45. 

not  suddenly  destroy  them  by  pestilence,  but  lets  them  gradually 
die  out  in  their  lonff  wandering;  in  the  wilderness. 

Ver.  22.  Not  hearken  to  My  voice. — "  Ten  times  "  might  in 
itself,  as  a  round  number,  signify  the  full  measure,  since  this 
number,  as  a  perfect  whole,  means  perfection;  but  in  actual flxct 
the  temptations  mentioned  in  the  previous  history  are  exactly 
ten:  (1.)  The  murmuring  at  the  Red  Sea,  Exod.  xiv.  11,  12; 
(2.)  At  ISIarah,  ch.  xv.  23 ;  (3.)  In  the  wilderness  of  Siuai,  ch. 
xvi.  2 ;  (4.)  In  the  case  of  the  manna,  ch.  xvi.  20  ;  (5.)  In  the 
same  case  a  second  time,  ch.  xvi.  27;  (6.)  In  Rephidim,  ch.  xvii.  1 ; 
(7.)  At  Horeb,  ch.  xxxh.;  (8.)  At  Taberah,  Num.  xi.  1  ;  (9.)  At 
the  graves  of  lust,  Kibroth-hattaavah,  ch.  xi.  4 ;  and  (10.)  Here 
at  Kadesh.  Thereby  was  the  measure  of  their  sin  really  full, 
and  the  day  of  grace  past. 

Ver.  25.  In  the  valley. — On  the  other  side  of  the  mountain 
now  facing  the  Israelites.  They  will  dispute  with  you  the 
entrance  into  Canaan,  and  ye  shall  now  no  more  be  able  to  over- 
come them.  This  actually  took  place  in  the  perverse  attack 
which  the  Israelites  afterwards  made. 

Ver.  26.  Moses  and  Aaron. — A  second  time,  after  the  first 
preliminary  announcement.  With  these  words  a  fresh  revela- 
tion every  time  begins. 

Ver.  33.  Your  whoredoms. — The  punishment  of  them.  By 
this  expression  is  elsewhere  idolatry  peculiarly  signified.  But  it 
can  signify  every  unfaithfulness,  every  apostasy  from  the  true 
God,  which  must  of  necessity  sooner  or  later  lead  to  idolatry. 

Ver.  37.  Died  by  the  plague. — A  sudden  chastisement,  a  mira- 
culous act  on  God's  part.  The  seducers  died  suddenly,  the  rest 
gradually. 

Ver.  45.  Ilormah. — In  their  rebellion  against  the  Lord,  this 
people  are  at  one  time  as  foolhardy  as  they  had  been  at  another 
cowardly.  A  quick  transition  from  one  extreme  to  another, 
lightness  of  mind,  a  tendency  to  insurrection,  sudden  change — 
these  were  the  characteristics  of  the  people  of  Israel  in  the  wil- 
derness, as  at  all  times.  A  steady,  calm  obedience,  therefore, 
very  little  marked  their  conduct. — Hormah  did  not  receive  this 
name  until  afterwards,  ch.  xxi.  3. 


NUMBERS  XV.  10-2G.  477 


CHAPTEE  XV. 


The  people  liad  fallen  away,  yet  was  their  sin  fori^iven  and 
themselves  again  acce]itcd.  Those  who  were  grown  up  were 
not,  indeed,  to  enter  the  Promised  Land,  but  their  children 
should  inherit  it ;  and  in  token  of  this,  grace  expressly  again 
assured  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  the  command  respecting  the 
sanctification  of  all  fruits  of  the  land  by  meat  and  drink-offering 
is  here  further  renewed,  to  which  is  added  a  more  precise  com- 
mand about  the  sin-offering.  The  law  was  thus  a  pledge  of  the 
continuance  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  That  to  this  a  peculiar 
reo;ulation  is  annexed  about  sin-offering  of  the  conm'ciration 
(ver.  22),  may  perhaps  have  its  reason  in  the  many  chances 
of  such  sinnings  in  the  wilderness,  by  which  it  might  become 
doubtful  how  far  the  whole  congregation  was  to  be  regarded  as 
tainted  with  this  guilt.  In  reference  to  this,  the  necessity  of  a 
sin-offering  of  the  Avhole  congregation  is  enforced. 

Ver.  10.  Unto  the  Lord. — This  fresh  regulation  is  added  to 
the  former  ones  respecting  the  offering  of  the  first-fruits — that 
not  merely  the  fruits  themselves,  but  likewise  flour,  should  be 
offered  in  testimony  that  the  right  of  possession  of  the  Lord  ex- 
tended not  only  to  the  land,  but  also  to  that  which  by  man's 
labour  Avas  produced  out  of  the  fruits  of  the  field. 

Ver.  12.  According  to  their  number. — In  the  laws  concerning 
offering  (Lev.  ii.),  meat-offerings  have  already  been  spoken  of  in 
a  general  way.  Here  it  is  now  determined  that  they  shall  be 
added  to  every  other  sacrifice.  By  these  offerings  it  was  solemnly 
acknowledged  that  meat  and  drink,  all  fruits  of  the  field,  all  daily 
nourishment,  belong  to  the  Lord.  By  acknowledging  this  in 
the  case  of  every  kind  of  gift  in  sacrifice,  all  the  works  of  man's 
daily  life  Avere  consecrated  to  the  Lord. 

Ver.  16.  Sojournetli  ivith  you. — Cf.  Lev.  xxiv.  3  6. 

Ver.  24.  By  ignorance. — Heb.  literally,  "  When  anything  is 
done  away  from  the  eyes  of  the  congregation  for  forgiveness;"  /.  c., 
when  any  one,  without  the  cognisance  of  the  congregation,  has 
done  anything  out  of  ignorance. 

Ver.  26.  Were  in  ignorance. — In  this  law  the  same  case  is 
by  no  means  supposed  as  Lev.  iv.  13,  etc.,  where  the  sin-offering 


478  NUMBERS  XV.  28-37. 

of  the  whole  congregation  is  treated  of;  rather  (cf.  ver.  24,  note) 
the  case  is  here  put,  that  by  the  transgression  of  the  individual 
the  wliole  congregation  lias  been  defiled,  while  there  the  whole 
congregation  Avas  itself  implicated  in  the  sin.  The  whole  congre- 
gation might,  for  example,  commit  sin  Avhen  it  was  led  by  the  fault 
of  its  rulers  (without  being  fully  conscious  of  what  it  was  doing) 
to  some  idolatrous  act,  or  to  participation  in  some  forbidden  con- 
nections, or  the  like.  In  this  latter  case  the  sin  was  of  a  more 
heinous  description,  and  the  atonement  belonged  to  those  of  the 
greater  and  more  solemn  kind,  like  that  of  the  high  priest.  But 
in  the  case  before  us,  the  congregation  was  not  a  participator  in 
the  crime,  but  was  nevertheless,  through  the  sin  of  the  individual, 
contaminated  by  it.  A  sin  had  been  committed  in  the  midst  of 
it  which  had  not  been  atoned  for,  and  an  offence  given,  the 
weight  of  which  did  not  fall  entirely  on  the  individual.  Here 
there  was  required  not  merely  an  atonement  for  the  transgressor 
himself  (also  perhaps  as  such  was  cut  off  from  the  people,  and 
not  therefore  atoned  for),  but  one  for  the  whole  people,  which 
nevertheless  in  solemnity  stood  below  that  other  atonement 
spoken  of. 

Ver.  28.  Forgiven  Mm. — This  is  here  only  briefly  and  allu- 
sively repeated ;  it  is  the  same  as  was  more  fully  declared.  Lev. 
iv.  27,  etc.  A  transgression  is  intended  which  in  no  way  affects 
the  whole  body  of  the  congregation. 

Ver.  32.  They  found  a  man. — The  great  punishment  on  the 
spies  has  humbled  the  people.  They  wdsh  no  more  to  transgress 
the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  and  bring  an  open  violator  of 
them  to  be  punished  by  Him. 

Ver.  34.  Should  he  done  to  him. — The  general  punishment  of 
being  cut  off  from  the  people  was  threatened  for  the  offence 
(Exod.  xxxi.  14);  but  it  was  not  said  whether  this  punishment 
should  be  executed  by  a  judicial  sentence,  and  in  what  manner. 

Ver.  36.  Commanded,  Moses. — Li  the  judgment  of  this  case  we 
must  carefully  keep  in  view  the  significance  of  the  Sabbath  as 
the  sign  of  God's  covenant  with  His  people.  An  intentional 
transgression  of  the  prohibition  to  work,  was  an  open  breach  of 
the  covenant,  an  act  of  rebellion  against  the  Lord. 

Ver.  37.  And  the  Lord. — The  last  apostasy  from  the  Lord 
leads  to  a  fresh  inculcation  of  all  His  commandments.  The 
Israelite  is  to  wear  on  his  garments  a  continual  remembrancer  of 


NUMBERS  XV.  38,  39  ;    XVI.  479 

the  commands  of  the  Lord,  which  shall  bring  his  senses  back 
from  worldly  aberrations,  and  deeply  impress  on  him  his  calling 
as  a  member  of  the  kingdom  of  priests. 

Ver.  38.  Of  him. — Heb.,  "  purple  blue,"  hyacinth  colour,  as 
Exod.  XXV.  1. 

Ver.  39.  Fringe. — Tassels  (Heb.  Zizith),  the  threads  of 
which  were  joined  at  the  top,  but  open  below.  These  were  fas- 
tened by  a  hyacinth-coloured  fringe  to  the  corners  of  their  gar- 
ments. The  tassels  must  by  their  movement  attract  their  sight. 
The  colour  of  tlie  frino;e  reminded  them  of  the  dress  of  the  hio;h 
priest,  Exod.  xxviii.  5. 

Seek  not. — Heb.,  "  wander  about,"  inquire,  spy  out,  that  your 
senses  do  not  become  lost  in  the  world,  in  order  to  seek  there 
something  new,  attractive,  pleasing.  What  follows  explains  it  still 
more  full  v. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  following  circumstance,  with  its  immediate  consequences, 
is  the  only  event  which  the  sacred  history  has  recorded  out  of  the 
nearly  forty  years'  life  of  wandering  in  the  Avilderness,  to  which 
the  people  w^ere  condemned  since  their  last  great  rebellion  (ch. 
xiv.);  and,  no  doubt,  this  event  is  to  be  placed  in  the  early  part 
of  this  long  period  of  chastisement.  A  dreary  blank  followed  it, 
in  which  nothing  essentially  new  could  be  contributed  towards 
tlie  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  this  generation,  now  doomed 
to  die  out.  After  that,  in  the  first  instance,  Moses'  nearest  kinsmen 
had  risen  up  against  him,  the  same  rebellious  spirit  seizes  on  the 
Levitical  tribe,  to  Avhich  Closes  and  Aaron  themselves  belonged, 
and  which  was  entrusted  with  the  highest  service  in  sacred 
things.  The  nearer  they  stood  to  the  priesthood,  so  much  the 
more  did  they  feel  their  distance  from  it.  With  them  distin- 
guished men  out  of  the  tribe  of  Reuben  ally  themselves,  pro- 
bably in  order  to  assert  the  natural  right  of  primogeniture  in 
opposition  to  God's  election,  both  in  respect  to  Levi  and  to 
Judah.  Moses'  behaviour  here  is  the  same  as  ever.  AYe  see 
him,  as  in  the  former  outbreaks,  firm  and  dauntless,  full  of  holy 


480  NUMBERS  XVI.  1-9. 

anger  against,  the  godless  sinners,  full  of  intercession  and  love 
for  the  thankless  covenant  people  of  God.  And  the  punishment 
inflicted  by  God  justifies  and  attests  his  authority  afresh,  while 
it  shows  most  clearly  the  hopeless  corruption  of  that  generation 
of  Israelites. 

Ver.  1.  Tooh. — What  he  took  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Hebrew. 
He  took  men,  has  been  added  with  probability.  He  assembled 
them  together  for  the  purpose  of  an  insurrection. 

Ver.  3.  Ye  take  too  much. — "Ye  have  too  much,"  ye  are  pre- 
ferred in  an  unjust  manner.  In  order  to  understand  how  again 
and  again,  after  so  many  proofs  by  the  most  public  miracles,  any 
doubt  on  the  subject  of  the  prophetic  and  priestly  dignity  of 
Moses  and  Aaron  were  possible,  we  must  place  ourselves  in  the 
mind  of  the  ancient  heathens.  They,  notwithstanding  the  great- 
est miracles  (which  they  themselves  believed)  of  their  gods,  still 
did  not  regard  them  as  all-powerful  and  unchangeable  in  their 
decrees.  In  certain  cases  they  defied  their  authority,  and  sought 
for  help  elsewhere,  or  endeavoured  to  change  their  will.  Such  a 
notion  as  this,  we  must  suppose,  existed  in  the  minds  of  the  more 
hardened  jmrt  of  the  people,  even  when  they  did  not  fall  into 
open  idolatry.  From  such  heathen  notions  of  God,  it  is  very  in- 
telligible, how  on  the  one  side  Corah  deduced  the  holiness  of  the 
whole  people  from  the  dwelling  of  God  among  them,  and  yet  at 
the  same  time  rebelled  against  the  ordinances  of  the  Lord. 
Imagining  God  to  resemble  weak,  sinful  man,  he  thought  Moses 
had  usurped  too  much  authority  from  Him,  and  that  by  a  deter- 
mined assertion  of  his  own  rights  the  Lord  might  be  compelled 
to  change  His  statutes.  In  proportion  as  God  dealt  with  His 
people  more  after  the  manner  of  men,  were  the  more  corrupt  part 
in  danger,  in  their  ideas  of  this  human  side  of  God's  dealings,  to 
mix  up  ideas  of  sinfulness — ^just  as  under  different  forms  the  same 
evil  has  manifested  itself  even  in  Christianity. 

Ver.  7.  Shall  he  holy. — He  transfers  to  them  a  chief  office  of 
the  priesthood — the  offering  up  the  prayers  of  the  people  in  the 
incense-offering,  in  order  that  therein  the  choice  of  the  Lord 
might  be  declared. 

Ver.  9.  Near  to  Himself. — The  same  word  stands,  ver.  10. 
Nothing  is  here  said  of  sacrificing.  Ye  are  allowed,  he  says,  to 
draw  near  to  Him  as  no  other  tribe  :  ye  are  the  chosen  of  the 
whole  congregation,  their  representatives  before  God. 


NUMBERS  XVI.  12-27.  481 

Ver.  12.  We  will  not  come  vjy. — To  judgment,  for  which  tlie 
expression  "  come  up  "  elsewhere  frequently  stands.  Deut.  xxviii. 
7.  Moses  endeavoured  to  sever  these  two,  as  misled  persons, 
from  the  authors  of  the  rebellion. 

Ver.  13.  Milk  and  honei/. — It  is  not  without  bitter  mockery 
that  they  call  Egypt  by  a  name  which  Canaan  bears  in  all  the 
promises  of  God. 

Kill  us. — Because  they  were  condemned  to  die  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

Ver.  14.  Put  out  the  eyes. — Treat  them  as  blind  persons,  who 
must  let  themselves  be  led  wherever  you  choose — who  do  not  see 
that  you  perform  nothing  of  your  promises. 

Ver.  15.  Hurt  one  of  them, — Have  not  as  a  king  exacted 
gifts  from  them.  Moses  therefore  lived  among  the  people  quite 
like  an  equal. 

Ver.  19.  Tabernacle  of  the  congregation. — At  ver.  IG  the  band 
of  Corah  was  called  "  his  company,"  but  here  it  is  said  simply 
"  the  congregation."  Without  doubt,  therefore,  the  whole  con- 
gregation of  the  people  is  to  be  understood.  Corah  wished  in 
his  audacity  to  have  them  all  as  witnesses. 

Ver.  21.  This  congregation. — It  was  a  great  sin  on  the  part  of 
the  people  that  they  had  assembled  at  Corah's  invitation.  Even 
if  they  had  not  yet  taken  part  in  his  rebellion,  they  still  were 
willing  to  be  neutral,  and  to  see  how  matters  would  turn  out.  It 
was  on  account  of  this  unthankfulness  and  unbelief  that  God 
would  have  destroyed  them  with  the  insurgents. 

Ver.  22.  Of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh  ;  i.e.,  Thou  who  hast  given 
to  every  one  life  and  breath ;  Thou  the  Creator  and  Preserver 
of  all.  They  would  restrain  Him  by  that  attribute  which  seems 
to  them  irreconcileable  witli  the  general  extermination  of  them 
all.  Here  also  holds  good  what  has  been  said,  Exod.  xxxii.  7 
and  xxxii.  13. 

Ver.  25.  Rose  up. — He  went  out  to  them  to  the  camp  of  the 
Reuben ites,  while  Corah  and  his  party,  as  Kohathites,  dwelt 
immediately  behind  the  tabernacle. 

Ver.  27.  Little  children. — They  wished  in  their  bold  self-con- 
fidence to  await  the  issue.  Their  children  perished ;  but  Corah's 
sepai'ated  themselves  from  their  father,  and  were  preserved,  ch. 
xxvi.  11.  From  this  Levitical  family  proceed  many  of  the  most 
beautiful  psalms  :  Psalm  xliv.-xlix. 

2h 


482  NUMBERS  XVI.  30-41. 

Ver.  30.  A  new  thing. — Lit.  :  "  But  if  Jehovah  ^Yill  make  a 
creation,"  will  interfere  with  the  usual  course  of  things  by  an 
extraordinary  wonder.  Similar  words  stand  Exod.  xxxiv.  10 ; 
Isa.  xlviii.  7. 

Ver.  30.  Into  the  pit. — That  the  pit  swallows  them  up  without 
their  first  dying.  The  death  of  the  body,  as  it  is  a  punishment 
of  sin,  is  also  a  mild  form  of  the  punishment  which  follows  on 
sin,  since,  in  the  circumstances  which  precede  and  accompany  it, 
it  has  an  especially  great  power  to  draw  the  soul  away  from  sin, 
and  to  preserve  it  from  the  worst  consequences  of  sin.  The  new 
thing  that  God  now  makes  is  this — that  He  passes  over  this  in- 
terval, and  at  once  hurries  the  soul  out  of  the  sinful  life  into  the 
pit  of  destruction.  The  event  which  occurred  before  their  eyes, 
that  their  bodies  go  alive  under  the  earth,  was  a  figure  of  this 
destruction. 

Ver.  35.  Offered  incense. — While  this  took  place  in  the  camp, 
those  250  (ver.  2),  the  leaders  of  the  insurrection  with  their 
censers,  were  before  the  tabernacle  ;  and  Moses  had  probably  re- 
turned to  them  when  the  punishment  overtook  them. 

Ver.  38.  Against  their  own  souls. — A  remarkable  expression, 
which  explains  the  doctrine  of  punishment  and  atonement  in  the 
O.  T.,  and  especially  the  expression  which  so  often  occurs,  "  the 
Lord  is  sanctified  in  His  enemies."  The  censers  tainted  with 
sin  are,  by  the  death  of  those  who  had  defiled  them,  cleansed, 
nay,  even  hallowed.  Through  the  punishment,  God  puts  His 
holy  law  in  the  place  where  lately  sin  was.  The  censers  are 
now  made  into  plates,  and  hung  on  the  altar.  The  words,  how- 
ever, in  the  Hebrew  would  be  more  correctly  thus  recorded  : 
"  And  that  he  take  the  censers  out  of  the  burning  (since  they 
are  holy),  the  censers  of  those  sinners  against  their  souls,"  who 
by  their  sin  have  perished.  The  sense,  however,  is  the  same, 
since  in  any  case  the  words  will  signify,  viz.,  that  their  souls,  i.e.y 
their  death,  have  hallowed  the  censers.  (Li  the  German  Bible 
the  words  "  against  their  souls,"  etc.,  are  translated,  "  since  the 
censers  of  such  sinners  are  hallowed  through  their  souls ;"  which 
will  explain  the  meaning  of  this  note. — Translator.) 

Ver.  4L  Once  more  the  people  are  rebellious,  and  by  reason 
of  the  ver}'  punishment  inflicted  on  Corah.  How  this  could  be 
possible,  after  the  manifest  miraculous  dealing  of  God,  is  only  to 
be  explained  (as  in  ver.  3)  by  the  heathenish  feelings  of  the 


NUMBERS  XVI.  45-50;    XVII.  483 

people.  They  regarded  jVIoscs  as  a  might}'  magician,  like  the 
Eg}'ptian  magicians,  to  whose  art  even  the  Di\  inity  itself  could 
not  refuse  its  aid,  and  they  consider  him  to  be  responsible  for  the 
consequences.  It  becomes  more  and  more  clear  from  tlie  whole 
history,  that  the  old  people  who  had  been  brought  out  of  Egypt 
were  hopelessly  hardened,  and  had  fully  deserved  their  chastise- 
ment to  die  in  the  wilderness.  Nevertheless  no  revelation  of  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God  is  ever  in  vain  :  it  remains  reserved 
for  the  instruction  of  the  generation  growing  up,  and  the  blessing 
which  it  brings  to  that  is  seen  in  the  sequel  of  the  history. 

Ver.  45.  Get  you  up. — Cf.  ver.  4,  note,  vers,  21  and  22. 

Ver.  48.  Was  stayed. — It  was  the  intercession  of  Moses  and 
Aaron  which  saved  the  people ;  but  it  was  necessary  that  the 
power  of  this  mediation  should  be  made  manifest  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people  by  a  visible  sign,  and  thereby  the  truth  declared.  The 
same  burning  of  incense  which  in  the  hands  of  him  who  is  not  a 
priest  brings  death,  gives  life  in  the  priest's  own  hands.  It  was 
also  intended  that  the  people  should  receive  an  impression  of 
the  greatness  of  Aaron's  loving  devotion  by  his  placing  himself 
between  the  living  and  the  dead. 

Ver.  50.  The  i^lacjue  was  stayed. — When  it  was  ended  Aaron 
came  again  to  declare  the  effect  which  his  intercession  had  by 
God's  grace  brought  about,  and  to  return  thanks  to  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  priesthood  was  to  bo  confirmed  to  Aaron  not  only  by  tlie 
destruction  of  those  who  had  presumed  to  take  it,  but  also  by  a 
miracle,  which  signified  in  a  beautiful  manner  the  holy  fulness 
of  life  which  God  vouchsafed  to  this  order  of  men,  and  so  an 
abiding  memorial  of  it  (as  well  as  of  Corah's  punishment)  might 
be  preserved.  God  is  the  source  of  all  life :  whom  the  Loixl 
sanctifies,  to  him  He  imparts  in  the  sanctification  the  fulness  of 
His  life,  which  needs  not  proceed  along  the  gradual  way  of 
nature.  This  is  the  thought  which  is  figuratively  expressed  in 
the  following  history. 


484  NUMBERS  XVII.  3-13;    XVIII. 

Ver.  3.  One  rod. — There  were,  therefore,  in  all  thirteen  rods. 
Aaron's  was  added  to  the  other  twelve. 

Ver.  8.  Almonds.  —  The  almond-tree,  as  that  which  most 
quickly  brings  forth  blossoms  and  beautiful  fruit,  is  an  emblem 
of  the  mighty  power  of  the  Divine  word,  which  is  ever  fresh 
and  unfailing  in  its  fulfilment  (Jer.  i.  11,  12).  For  this  reason 
this  fruit  appears  most  significantly  on  Aaron's  rod,  to  whose 
house  the  revelation  of  God  was  confided  for  the  good  of  the 
people. 

Ver  13.  Consumed  loitli  dying. — Not  an  expression  of  faith 
and  thankfulness  indeed,  but  still  of  wholesome  fear,  of  dread  of 
God.     This  cause  of  rebellion  ceased  from  this  time. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

After  that  on  the  occasion  of  the  insurrections, — first,  that  of 
Miriam  and  Aaron,  then,  more  particularly,  that  of  Corah  and 
his  company, — the  divine  right  of  the  priesthood  had  been  esta- 
blished, there  follow  more  particular  enactments  concerning  the 
incomes  of  the  priests  and  Levites,  about  which  detached  regula- 
tions have  already  been  given.  The  nature  of  this  income  is 
very  remarkable  and  significant,  and  stands  in  striking  contrast 
to  all  that  we  find  among  the  neighbouring  heathen  people.  For 
while  among  all  the  heathen,  with  whom  a  ruling  priestly  caste 
has  existed  (as  at  this  day  in  India),  this  class  is  uncommonly 
richly  endowed,  especially  in  landed  property  (just  as  though,  being 
priests  of  a  Nature-worship,  they  were  intended  to  thrive  in  the 
natural  land  as  its  more  distinguished  members),  the  Levites,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  to  hold  no  inheritance  in  the  land  of  the 
Israelites  (ver.  20).  They  dwelt  dispersed  in  different  towns 
among  all  the  tribes,  and  even  in  the  towns  they  mixed  with  the 
other  inhabitants.  The  Lord  Jehovah  Himself  was  to  be  their 
inheritance.  Their  property,  their  outward  lot,  their  position 
among  the  people,  their  power,  was,  in  its  essential  character, 
spiritual,  and  referred  to  the  unseen,  to  the  world  beyond  this ; 
but  even  for  this  very  reason  was  it  to  be  an  ever-living,  present 
power,  which  penetrated  and  governed  everything.     Jehovah,  as 


NUMBERS  XVIII.  1.  485 

the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth,  had  given  the  land  of  Canaan  to 
His  people.  He  required  tlierefore,  as  the  recognition  of  His 
supremacy,  the  tithe  of  all  produce  of  the  field  or  of  the  trees, 
as  also  the  first-fruits  of  all  crops  (cf.  Gen.  xxviii.  22,  note). 
Tliis  tithe  He  iiave  as  an  abidino;  rioht  to  tliose  who  had  Him  as 
their  "  inheritance  and  part"  (ver.  20),  who  entirely  depended  on 
Him  in  all  that  relates  to  their  subsistence.  Considerable  as  this 
portion  appears  to  be,  when  this  single  tribe,  which  was  not  (at 
least  in  the  wilderness)  so  numerous  as  the  others,  received  the 
tithe  of  the  whole  land-produce,  over  and  above  that  wliich  ac- 
crued to  those  who  were  priests,  nevertheless  we  find  the  Levites 
often  recommended  to  the  love  and  benevolence  of  the  others  as 
being  a  needy  tribe  (Deut.  xii.  12,  ch.  xiv.  27) ;  because  at  that 
time,  just  as  little  as  in  the  Middle  Ages  in  any  Christian  people, 
was  the  letter  of  the  law  of  tithe  fulfilled,  and  the  produce  actually 
given  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.  Only  when  the  pure  reverence  for 
God  fiourished  among  the  people,  which  in  a  great  measure  was 
dependent  on  the  zeal  and  faithfulness  of  Levi,  might  they  hope 
to  receive  as  a  body  outward  respect.  Their  spiritual  power  was, 
however,  so  much  the  more  considerable,  since  the  priests  (and 
with  them  all  the  Levites)  were  appointed  to  "  teach  the  people 
the  difference  between  the  holy  and  the  profane,"  and,  where  a 
cause  came  before  them,  they  were  to  judge  and  speak  according 
to  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  to  celebrate  all  festivals  :  Ezek.  xliv. 
23,  24.  It  was  their  duty,  as  being  learned  in  Scripture,  to  keep 
the  genealogical  tables.  The  regulations  concerning  leprosy  and 
similar  appointments  in  Egypt,  lead  us  to  conclude  that  they 
were  also  the  physicians  of  the  Israelites.  In  later  times  they 
had  also  in  part  a  military  organisation ;  and  at  the  same  time 
they  exercised,  in  the  more  perfect  temple  worship,  the  fine  arts 
which  flourished  among,  the  people.  But  the  root  of  their  power 
lay  in  the  faith  of  the  people.  When  they  themselves  became 
entangled  in  unbelief  and  idolatry,  they  sank  into  miserable  cir- 
cumstances, as  we  find  represented  in  the  history,  Judges  xvii. 
7,  etc. 

Ver.  1.  Iniquity  of  your  priesthood. — This  expression  is  ex- 
plained by  Exod.  xxviii.  38.  The  bearing  (the  same  as  taking 
away,  removing)  signifies  the  covering,  cancelling  of  sin,  by 
means  of  the  holiness  attributed  by  the  Lord  to  the  priesthood, 
and  is  a  remembrancer  that  the  nearness  of  Jehovah  is  unbear- 


486  NUMBERS  XVIII.  2-27. 

able  for  all  whom  He  has  not  sanctified,  as  the  former  history- 
has  proved.  By  the  addition,  that  they  shall  bear  also  "  the  ini- 
quity of  their  priesthood,"  they  are  reminded  that  they,  just  as 
much  as  the  other  Israelites,  are  sinners,  and  must  atone  for  their 
own  sins  with  those  of  the  people. 

Ver.  2.  Minister  nnto  thee. — In  this  expression  there  is  a  play 
on  the  Avord.  Literally :  "  Tlie  Levites  shalt  thou  bring  with 
thee,  and  they  shall  be  joined  to  thee  ( Jillavu)  and  serve  thee." 
Their  name  shall  always  remind  them  that  they  belong  to  the 
priests. 

Ver.  6.  A  gift  for  the  Lord. — Lit. :  "  Also  a  gift,  a  gift  to  the 
Lord."  Prominence  is  always  given  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
servants  to  the  Lord,  and  never  to  the  persons  of  the  priests. 

Ver.  10.  Holy. — The  most  holy  of  the  sacrifices  belonged  to 
the  priests  alone,  and  might  not  be  eaten  by  any  but  the  male 
members  of  their  families  in  a  holy  place,  Lev.  vii.  6. 

Ver.  11.  Eat  of  it. — Here  is  meant  the  thank-offerings,  the 
holy,  in  distinction  from  the  most  holy.  Of  the  former  every 
member  of  the  priestly  house  might  eat :  cf.  Lev.  vii.  28-34. 

Ver.  14.  Devoted. — Lev.  xxvii.  28. 

Ver.  16.  Month  old. — Because  it  then  can  be  weaned;  and  so 
out  of  compassion  to  the  mother. 

Ver.  19.  Covenant  of  salt. — An  incorruptible  covenant.  Cf. 
Lev.  ii.  13,  note;  2  Chron.  xiii.  5. 

Ver.  20.  Children  of  Israel. — This  is  repeatedly  given  as  the 
reason  why  Levi  and  Aaron  had  received  no  inheritance  in 
Israel :  Deut.  x.  9 ;  Joshua  xiii.  14,  33,  ch.  xviii.  7.  In  truth, 
the  grant  of  the  tithe  so  much  turned  their  minds  to  the  unseen 
world,  that  without  a  firm  trust  in  the  Lord,  without  faithfulness 
in  His  service,  it  would  even  become  a  punishment :  cf.  Gen. 
xlix.  15,  note. 

Ver.  26.  Tenth  part. — Since  the  Levites  themselves  are  not 
priests,  but  required,  like  the  rest,  the  priestly  mediation,  they 
were  also  to  give  the  tenth  part  of  their  tithe  to  the  priests. 
Thereby  were  they  sanctified,  and  their  near  approach  to  the 
sacred  things  expiated. 

Ver.  27.  Fulness  of  the  loine-press. — As  though  ye  had  reaped 
it  yourselves. 


NUMBERS  XIX.  2.  487 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  destruction  of  Corah  and  his  company,  and  tlie  plague 
which  followed  upon  it  (ch.  xvi.),  had  carried  off'  a  great 
number  of  Israelites,  and  the  need  was  more  urgent  than  ever 
that  they  should  become  certified,  how  the  members  of  the 
people  of  God  might  be  cleansed  from  so  general  and  so  often 
recurring  a  pollution  as  that  which  resulted  from  touching  a  dead 
body.  For  this  purpose  an  especial  sin-offering  is  ordained.  A 
red  heifer  was  to  be  chosen :  it  must  be  red,  because  that  fierce, 
flaring,  blood-like  colour  (in  Egypt,  the  colour  of  Typhon,  the 
prince  of  evil)  was  an  especial  remembrancer  of  sin.  A  heiferj 
in  distinction  from  tlie  other  sin-offerings  (Lev.  iv.  13,  14),  be- 
cause it  represented  the  whole  congregation ;  while,  in  other 
cases,  this  representation  was  less  taken  into  consideration  than 
the  pcrfectness  of  the  victim.  The  other  marks — those  of  free- 
dom from  all  blemishes — must  exist  in  every  sin-offering,  which 
was  to  stand  in  the  stead  of  the  sinners.  The  heifer  must,  as 
laden  witli  the  sins  of  the  whole  people,  be  brought  outside  before 
the  camp,  and,  after  the  blood-sprinkling,  be  entirely  burnt. 
The  means  of  purification  which  have  already  occurred,  cedar- 
wood,  hyssop,  and  scarlet  wool,  are  added  to  the  sacrifice  by  way 
of  adding  force  to  its  significance.  (The  customs,  in  many  respects 
similar,  in  the  purifying  of  the  leper  [Lev.  xiv.],  and  on  the  day 
of  atonement  [Lev.  xvi.],  should  here  be  compared.)  The  ashes 
of  the  heifer  thus  burnt,  were  mingled  with  fresh  (flowing) 
water,  and  then  used  for  a  water  of  sprinkling,  in  order  to  cleanse 
therewith  every  one  who,  by  the  touching  of  dead  bodies,  was 
defiled.  The  reason  of  this,  the  chief  of  all  purifications,  was,  no 
doubt,  to  represent  to  the  people  of  God  death,  the  consequence 
and  piniishment  of  sin,  as  the  greatest  of  all  the  defilements  of 
human  nature.  Nothing  tends  so  much  to  remind  men  of  sin 
as  that  which  sin  has  brought  on  all  men — death.  Nothing 
ought  man  so  much  to  avoid  as  that  which  has  brought  him  in 
contact  with  the  dark  realm  of  sin. 

Ver.  2.  No  spot. — Literally,  "  perfect ; " — no  blemish  does  not 
differ  from  this. 

Yoke. — Never  been  used  for  common  purposes.     The  less  it 


488  NUMBERS  XIX.  3-17  ;    XX. 

lias  come  in  contact  with  men,  sinners,  so  much  the  more  was  it 
suitable  to  stand  in  the  stead  of  the  sinful  people. 

Ver.  3.  Slay  her. — As  this  sacrifice  is  afterwards  expressly 
called  a  sin-offering  (A^ers.  9,  17),  assuredly  the  significant  custom 
of  laying  on  of  hands  was  not  omitted,  but  the  mention  is  passed 
over  as  being  something  well  known. 

Ver.  5.  Shall  lie  hum. — As  in  the  case  of  this  sacrifice-  the 
entire  purification  of  the  whole  people  from  the  greatest  of  all 
defilements  was  to  be  made  the  prominent  matter,  the  victim  was 
therefore  brought  forth  without  the  camp.  It  must  also  be 
entirely  burnt,  as  was  not  the  case  with  the  other  sin-offerings : 
Lev.  iv. 

Ver.  6.  Scarlet. — For  the  meaning  of  these  three  means  of 
purification  see  Lev.  xiv.  6. 

Ver.  8.  Until  the  even. — As  was  the  case  on  the  great  day  of 
atonement  with  the  high  priest,  and  with  him  who  carried  out 
the  goat  into  the  wilderness  :  Lev,  xvi.  23-26. 

Ver.  9.  Purification  for  sin. — The  two  marks  of  the  sin-offer- 
ing here  meet — that  it  must  be  in,  and  for,  itself  clean — but 
becomes  unclean  through  the  sin  laid  upon  it.  The  heifer, 
therefore,  must  be  clean  and  without  blemish  in  itself;  but  all  is 
impure  which  has  to  do  with  the  act  of  sacrifice — i.e.,  with  the 
laying  on  of  sin  upon  it,  with  the  whole  process  of  purification : 
only  when  all  is  accomplished  which  is  to  serve  for  the  purifica- 
tion does  the  water  of  sprinkling  defile  no  more.  Then  is  sin 
and  death  overcome  by  the  Divine  power  of  life.  In  all  this  may 
we  easily  perceive  a  type  of  the  true  offering  for  sin  :  Heb. 
ix.  13;  2  Cor.  v.  21. 

Ver.  17.  Running  loater. — Literally,  "living  water."  An 
emblem  of  life  triumphant  over  death. 


CHAPTEK  XX. 

This  chapter  transplants  us  all  at  once  into  the  last  period  of 
the  forty  years'  wandering  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  as 
they  have  again  arrived  at  the  borders  of  Canaan  and  prepare 
themselves  for  its  conquest.     It  is  the  maimer  of  sacred  history 


NUMBEllS  XX.  1-12.  489 

to  relate  only  the  events  of  most  weight  and  consequence  in  the 
progress  of  tlie  kingdom  of  God,  and  so  it  passes  over  in  silence 
the  long  time  which  was  spent  in  the  wilderness  by  the  genera- 
tion destined  to  die  out  there,  after  the  narration  of  its  last  violent 
outbreak.  A  new  time  begins  for  Israel.  Still,  indeed,  at  first 
the  old  rebelHous  and  capricious  spirit  meets  us ;  nay,  even  ISIoses 
and  Aaron  waver,  llepeated  disobedience  brings  fresh  punish- 
ment after  it.  Nevertheless,  these  outbreaks  are  not  of  so  bad  a 
character  as  the  former  ones.  A  fresh,  enterprising  spirit  inspires 
the  new  generation,  full  as  it  is  of  rich  hopes,  and  destined  to 
take  possession  of  the  Promised  Land.  The  people  march  with 
eagerness  to  battle  and  to  victory.  Songs  celebrating  their  tri- 
umphant march  are  sung.  These  are  collected  in  a  Book  of  the 
Wars  of  the  Lord,  and  the  fulfilment  of  the  great  promise  draws 
nigh. 

Ver.  1.  Kadesh. — On  the  south  border  of  Canaan,  where,  ch. 
xiii.  27,  the  Divine  punishment  liad  been  declared  to  them. 
Miriam  also,  on  account  of  her  rebellion,  must  suffer  the  general 
doom  ;  still  she  was  permitted  to  come  to  the  borders  of  the  land. 

Ver.  3.  When  our  brethren. — Lit.,  "  in  the  death  of  our  brethren 
before  the  Lord."  The  punishment  of  death  which  took  place 
thirty-eight  years  before  in  the  same  spot,  is  here  intended. 

Ver.  8.  And  their  beasts. — In  the  case  when  a  bodily  want  has 
led  to  tlie  murmuring,  the  punishment  of  God  is  never  so  great 
as  where  pride  and  perverseness  have  been  the  cause  of  the 
rebellion. 

Ver.  12.  Shall  not  bring. — The  sin  of  Moses  and  Aaron  con- 
sists in  the  question,  ver.  10.  The  meaning  of  it  was — that 
Moses,  though  it  may  be  with  a  good  intent,  wished  to  show  the 
people  their  sin,  and  on  account  of  it  to  make  it  appear  doubtful 
whether  God  would  fulfil  their  desire.  But  for  this  he  had  no 
Divine  command.  God  would  here  bear  with  the  impatience 
of  the  people ;  and  Moses  and  Aaron  ought  to  be  nothing  but 
instruments  of  His  almighty  power  among  the  people.  They 
ought  to  sanctify  Him,  by  showing  Him  as  the  true  and  faithful 
Fulfiller  of  all  His  promises.  In  ]\Ioses  himself,  who  had  been 
thought  worthy  of  so  high  grace,  the  very  least  im})erfection 
must  be  chastised  in  the  most  severe  manner.  And  in  this  very 
punishment  he  appears  as  the  greatest  servant  of  God  in  the 
Old  Testament. 


40O  NUMBERS  XX.  13. 

Ver.  13.  Sanctified. — He  showed  Himself  to  the  people  to  be 
the  Holy  One  in  His  faithfulness  to  His  covenant ;  and  to  Moses 
and  Aaron  as  the  Holy  One  in  His  punishment. 

The  people  now  purpose  to  press  into  the  land  of  Canaan. 
They  were  not  to  march  against  Gaza,  the  most  southern  town 
of  the  Philistines.  The  contest  was  not  to  begin  with  this  people, 
who  were  then  in  the  full  vigour  of  their  power,  and  who  con- 
tinued for  a  long  time  a  powerful  nation.  The  war  of  extermi- 
nation was  in  the  first  instance  directed  against  those  who  were, 
properly  speaking,  Canaanites.  The  Israelites  might  now  have 
attempted  the  invasion  northward — as  they  had  before  tried  (ch. 
xiv.  39) — from  Arabah,  the  long  deep  valley  Avhich  intersects  the 
wilderness  from  Akabah  to  the  Dead  Sea,  and  from  thence  to 
the  north,  in  which  also  lies  the  wilderness  of  Zin.  But  here  is 
a  rugged  precipitous  chain  of  mountains,  the  wall  of  defence  of 
Canaan.  They  prefer  therefore  to  ask  of  the  Edomites,  a  people 
closely  connected  with  them,  a  free  passage,  since  a  forcible 
entrance  into  their  land  at  this  point  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 
"  The  Mountain  Seir  (cf.  Gen.  xxvii.  40,  note)  rises  precipitately 
from  the  valleys  Ghor  and  Arabah,  and  is  intersected  by  a  couple 
of  narrow  wadys  from  the  west  to  the  east :  of  these,  the  Wady 
Ghoeir  alone  offers  a  not  very  difficult  rente  for  a  hostile  force. 
This  was  probably  the  road  by  which  Moses,  who  perceived  how 
difficult  it  would  be  to  force  his  way,  and  who  hoped  to  attain 
his  object  by  negotiations,  desired  a  passage  from  the  Edomites, 
on  the  condition  of  buying  provisions  from  the  inhabitants. 
When  the  Edomites  refused  this  request,  nothing  remained  for 
the  Israelites,  than  to  follow  the  valley  Arabah,  in  a  southerly 
direction,  towards  the  head  of  the  Eed  Sea." — Burckhardt. 
"  Mount  Seir  has  at  the  base  low  eminences  of  limestone  ;  then 
succeed  porphyry  strata,  which  compose  the  main  mass ;  upon 
this,  sandstone  torn  into  irregular  ridges  and  grotesquely  grouped 
crags.  East  from  these  mountains  stretches  the  unbounded 
plain  of  the  great  eastern  wilderness.  We  reckon  the  height  of 
the  porphyry  cliffs  at  about  2000  feet  above  Arabah  :  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  Wady  Musa  above  the  same  is  about  2200  feet, 
wdiile  the  ridges  of  limestone  farther  behind  are  probably  not 
under  3000  feet  high."— Robinson,  iii.  102.— It  is  remarkable 
how  vividly  the  traditions  from  the  time  of  the  patriarchs  still 
remained  in  the  recollection  of  the  people,  since  Edom   was 


NUMBERS  XX.  19-24;   XXI.  491 

regarded  as  Israel's  brother,  but  still  retained  the  spirit  of 
hostility  which  existed  in  their  ancestor. 

Ver.  19.  Said  unto  them. — They  send  a  second  embassage. 

Ver.  21.  Turned  axoay. — Cf.  Judges  xi.  17,  18.  Tlie  march  of 
the  Israelites  was  now  to  the  south,  to  the  Eed  Sea.  Here  they 
appear  to  have  traversed  as  much  of  the  fruitful  valleys  of 
Mount  Seir  as  the  Edomites  allowed  them,  since  the  Mount 
Hor,  at  the  foot  of  which  they  arrived,  is,  after  a  very  ancient 
tradition,  still  shown  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  later  capital, 
Sela  or  Petra.  On  this  the  Arabs  to  this  very  day  reverence 
Harun  or  Aaron.  Here  Aaron  died,  after  the  Lord  liad  once 
more  declared  death  to  be  the  chastisement  of  his  sin ;  but  he 
died  a  calm,  blessed  death,  brought  to  his  rest  by  God  Himself. 
It  was  of  importance  that  on  this  occasion  the  priesthood  should 
be  solemnly  transferred  to  Aaron's  eldest  son,  as  a  proof  that  all 
the  commands  and  promises  appertaining  to  it  did  not  belong  to 
Aaron  personally,  but  to  the  priestly  office  which  was  bestowed 
on  his  family. 

Ver.  22.  Mount  Hor. — "  To  our  left  we  saw  Hor,  as  it  stood 
out  prominently  among  the  front  cliffs  of  the  eastern  range  of 
mountains.  Its  form  is  that  of  an  irregular  blunt  cone,  with 
three  jagged  points.  Of  these,  that  on  the  north-east  is  the 
highest,  and  distinguished  with  the  Mohammedan  Wely  or  grave 
of  Aaron." — Robinson,  iii.  54, 

Ver.  24.  Gathered  unto  his  people. — This  beautiful  expression 
of  the  patriarchal  time  occurs  here  once  more,  after  a  long  in- 
terval, at  the  death  of  this,  perhaps  weak,  but  faithful  and  con- 
stant servant  of  the  Lord  (cf.  Gen.  xv.  5,  ch.  xxviii.  8). 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  new  generation  of  the  children  of  Israel  is  now  full  of 
eagerness  to  press  forward  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  It  appears 
impossible  to  do  this  from  the  south.  The  negotiations  with  the 
Edomites  are  broken  off.  The  people  have  turned  from  Kadesh 
in  a  south-easterly  direction,  along  Arabah,  towards  the  ^Mountain 
Ilor.    The  Canaanitish  kinc  of  Arad  considers  this  a  favourable 


492  NUMBERS  XXI.  1-5. 

moment  (when  the  Israelites  are  encompassed  on  the  north  and 
east  by  the  naturally  strong  borders  of  Canaan  and  Edom,  on 
the  west,  by  the  inhospitable  wilderness,  and  threatened  on  the 
south  by  the  Amalekites)  to  attack  them  from  behind,  remem- 
bering the  former  victory  obtained,  when  the  Israelites  had 
perversely  made  an  attempt  to  conquer  the  country  (ch.  xiv.  15). 
Hormah  lay  to  the  south  of  the  proper  bomidary  of  Canaan.  It 
is  reckoned,  Deut.  i.  44,  as  belonging  to  Seir.  Israel  conquered 
this  place  therefore,  which  lay  outside  the  Promised  Land,  and 
its  natural  defences — a  presage  of  what  was  destined  for  this 
doomed  people. 

Ver.  1.  Way  of  the  spies. — Or  "by  the  way  of  Atharim." 
This  word  is  certainly  a  proper  name,  but  the  place  is  no  further 
known. 

Ver.  2.  Destroy. — Consecrate  to  the  Lord,  give  to  destruction 
(cf.  Lev.  xxvii.  29,  note),  as  already  there  a  chastisement  had 
been  inflicted  on  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  3.  Hoimah. — Ch.  xiv.  45.  This  place  had  already  been, 
by  anticipation,  designated  by  this  name,  wdiich  was  only  now 
given  to  it.  The  Israelites,  naturally,  did  not  at  the  time 
maintain  this  conquest,  but  they  completed  only  the  judgment 
upon  it  by  destroying  it,  in  order  to  proceed  in  their  march  to 
the  -^lanitic  Gulf  of  the  Red  Sea. 

The  heights  of  Mount  Seir,  which  are  considerable  and  very 
precipitous  in  the  north,  flatten  towards  the  E,ed  Sea ;  so  that 
Israel  hoped  by  a  circuit  round  the  hills  to  obtain  the  object  in 
which  it  had  failed  by  the  way  of  negotiation.  Here,  out  of  weari- 
ness of  the  sameness  of  the  food  with  which  they  were  supported, 
the  manna,  a  fresh  murmuring  breaks  out,  similar  to  that,  ch.  xiv. 
2,  which  is  followed  by  a  more  severe  punishment,  and  one  corre- 
sponding to  the  nature  of  the  country  in  which  it  happened :  cf. 
Exod.  xvi.  1.  "  Everywhere  on  the  sand  of  the  shore  were  seen 
ti'ails  of  the  serpents  which  had  crawled  there  in  ever}^  direction. 
Some  of  these  trails  appeared  to  be  made  by  animals  whose 
bodies  could  not  have  been  less  than  two  inches  in  diameter.  I 
heard  that  snakes  were  very  common  in  this  region — that  the 
fishermen  were  very  much  afraid  of  them,  and  at  night,  before 
they  went  to  rest,  extinguished  the  fire,  because  it  is  known  that 
the  light  attracts  them." — Burckhardt,  ii.  814. 

Ver.  5.  Light  bread;  i.e.,  worthless,  wretched  stuff. 


NUMBERS  XXI.  0-9.  493 

Ver.  6.  Fiery  serperds. — Lit.,  "burning  serpents,"  with  burn- 
ino;  bite.  The  article  stands  before  the  fiery  ser])ents  ("  the  fiery 
serpents"),  and  shows  that  something  well  known  is  meant.  They 
are  the  serpents  which  were  called  by  the  ancients,  Avhen  in  the 
AA'ater,  "  h}drus,"  when  they  came  to  land,  "  chersydrus."  In 
the  dry  time  of  the  year  (as  Aaron  died,  cli.  xx.  28,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  July,  it  must  now  have  been  the  end  of  August) 
these  serpents  come  to  land,  and  then  their  bite  is  more  dangerous 
than  at  other  times.  That  which  is  a  natural  event  in  the  coun- 
ti'y,  is  now  raised  into  a  miraculous  chastisement.  And  perhaps 
in  the  kind  of  punishment  there  is  a  sort  of  reference  to  the  sin 
which  called  it  forth.  They  who  found  the  taste  of  the  manna 
too  insipid,  who  longed  after  more  sharp,  biting  food,  are  them- 
selves bitten  by  the  burning  ser])ents.  But,  above  all,  do  the 
serpents  remind  them  of  the  war  which  is  being  continually  car- 
ried on  between  man  and  the  serpent  (Gen.  iii.  15),  and  likewise 
of  the  enemy  who  made  use  of  the  form  of  a  serpent  to  tempt 
the  first  of  mankind  to  sin,  and  to  bring  death  into  the  world. 

Ver.  8.  Upon  a  pole. — A  brazen  serpent  is  set  up  like  that 
which  had  inflicted  the  injury — of  brass,  probably,  because  this 
metal,  with  the  sun's  rays  shining  on  it,  served  as  a  memento  of 
the  burning  serpents.  The  healing  of  the  burning  bite  by  look- 
ing at  the  burning  serpent,  expresses  a  similar  notion  of  inter- 
cession with  that  contained  in  the  sin-offering.  In  consequence 
of  sin  the  serpents  had  been  sent:  God  forgives  His  people  their 
sin,  yet  not  unconditionally,  but  upon  their  looking  up  to  the 
brazen  serpent,  which,  lifeless  and  harmless,  overtimes  the  bite 
of  the  serpents;  just  as,  in  the  case  of  the  sacrifice,  the  looking 
on  the  life  of  the  victim  which  is  given  in  the  stead  of  the  sin- 
ner's life,  removes  the  punishment  of  death  which  belongs  to 
sin.  The  circumstance  that  the  serpent  at  the  same  time  serves 
as  a  memento  of  man's  tempter,  adds  force  to  the  idea  of  inter- 
cession :  it  is  the  likeness  of  sin  wliicli  itself  comes  in  the  place  of 
sin  ("  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,"  Kom.  viii.  3),  and,  by  Divine 
intervention,  destroys  sin.  Hence  the  typical  meaning  of  this 
history:  St  John  iii.  14,  15,  note. 

Shall  live. — Faith  in  this  Divine  appointment  of  grace  was 
therefore  the  hand  which  took  hold  of  the  miracle,  and  a])propri- 
ated  it  to  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  9.  lie  lived.— For  every  fresh  wound  there  was  ever  a 


494  NUMBERS  XXI.  10-13. 

fresh  healing  by  looking  on  the  brazen  serpent.  It  is  not  said 
that  the  fiery  serpents  were  destroyed,  but  that  they  were  made 
innoxious.     In  this  also  there  is  a  typical  meaning. 

The  moment  was  now  arrived  when  the  Israelites  were  to 
march  towards  Canaan.  They  had  now  "  compassed  Mount 
Seir"  long  enough;  they  were  now  to  turn  from  the  most  north- 
ern point  of  the  Red  Sea  "  towards  the  north-east,"  Deut.  ii.  3 ; 
but  there  they  must  touch  on  the  territory  of  the  Edomites,  and, 
according  to  the  will  of  the  Lord,  keep  the  same  terms  which 
they  (ch.  xx.  14)  had  promised  them,  Deut.  ii.  5,  6.  Although 
now  on  the  undefended  side  of  their  territory,  the  children  of 
Esau  "  were  afraid  before  them,"  and  let  them  pass  through. 
So  they  marched  in  a  north-easterly  direction  to  the  Anion,  the 
river  which  falls  into  the  Dead  Sea,  and  at  that  time  formed  the 
boundary  between  the  Moabites  and  the  Amorites,  who  stretched 
beyond  the  borders  of  Canaan.  Here  it  is  Avhere  mention  of  the 
songs  takes  place,  in  which  the  youthful  Israel,  eager  for  combat, 
celebrates  the  acts  of  the  Lord. 

Ver.  10.  Ohoth. — The  name  means  "  the  sluices ; "  perhaps 
because  it  was  the  place,  after  the  waterless  desert,  where  these 
were  again  filled  with  water. 

Ver.  11.  Ije-aharim. — Ije signifies  "ruins:"  perhaps  the  site  of 
a  ruined  town.  Abarim  is  unknown :  only  so  far  we  see  that 
the  Israelites  compassed  eastward  the  whole  land  of  Moab,  which 
at  that  time  reached  to  Arnon,  and,  in  a  north-easterly  direction 
from  it,  wished  to  enter  the  territory  of  the  Amorites. 

Ver.  12.  Zq.red. — This  brook  also  is  unknown.  It  has  been 
supposed  to  be  the  present  Wady  el-Ahsa,  or  el-Ahsy,  which, 
coming  from  the  west,  falls  almost  due  south  into  the  Dead  Sea. 
Its  rocky  valley  is  full  of  extremely  dangerous  clefts,  and  was  no 
doubt  crossed  by  the  Israelites  in  the  upper  shallower  part. 
According  to  others,  it  is  Kerek,  which  lies  more  to  the  north. 
In  this  region  the  last  men  capable  of  bearing  arms  died :  Deut. 
ii.  16.       '' 

Ver.  13.  Arnon. — The  Arnon  is  supposed  to  be  the  present 
Wady  Modscheb,  which  falls  into  the  Dead  Sea  somewhat  about 
the  middle  of  its  eastern  coast.  The  lower  part  of  its  course  is 
through  rocky  clefts,  the  upper  part  through  the  flat  regions  of 
the  Desert.  In  the  Heb.  (as  in  Engl.  Version)  it  is  "  on  the 
other  side,"  since  in  this  and  other  places  the  word  is  to  be  un- 


NU3IBERS  XXI.  14-20.  405 

clerstood  as  spoken  from  Canaan.  Here  it  is  equivalent  to 
"  south  of  Anion."  Although  Moses  did  not  write  his  history 
in  Canaan,  he  here,  and  in  many  places,  always  writes  as  takiny 
his  ])osition  there ;  just  as  a  person  living  in  Lower  India  always 
calls  the  country,  for  the  sake  of  general  distinction,  "India  on 
the  other  side  the  Ganges."  The  most  decisive  proof  that  such 
a  mode  of  speech  really  belongs  to  the  books  of  Moses,  may  be 
seen,  Deut.  i.  1  and  Num.  xxxii.  19. 

Ver.  14.  What  he  did. — Heb. :  "  Vaheb  in  the  storm  and  the 
brooks,  the  Arnon,  the  pouring  out  of  the  brooks  Avhich  stretches 
to  the  head  of  Ar,  and  leans  to  the  borders  of  Moab."  This  is  a 
picturesque  description  of  the  march  which  the  host  of  the  Lord 
made  without  ceasing  as  far  as  the  point  named,  ver.  13. 
"  Vaheb  "  is  an  unknown  place.  "  In  the  storm  "  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  unceasing  manner  in  which  Israel  marches  forward 
and  occupies  all  those  points.  "  Ar  "  is  the  old  capital  of  Moab, 
on  Arnon :  before  the  invasion  of  Sihon,  ver.  26,  Ivinff  in  the 
middle  of  this  land,  now  on  its  northern  border. 

Ver.  17.  Laiogiver. — A  joyous  song,  preserved  in  the  "Book 
of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord." — It  literally  runs,  "Ascend,  ye  wells; 
sing  ye  unto  him :  ye  wells,  the  princes  dug  it,  the  nobles  of  the 
]ieople  opened  it,  with  the  sceptre,  with  the  staffs."  Here  we  find 
nothing  of  the  old  murmm'ing ;  on  the  other  hand,  youthful 
gladness  and  poetic  enthusiasm.  "  The  princes  dug  it  with  the 
sceptre,  with  their  staffs,"  inasmuch  as  they  excite  and  urge  the 
people  to  it,  and  overlook  the  work. 

Ver.  20.  Jesldmon. — All  these  places  are  situated  no  more  in 
the  wilderness  on  the  other  side  the  land  of  Moab,  but  in  the 
territory  of  the  Amoritish  king  Sihon.  This  list  of  stations 
anticipates  the  following  narrative,  which  places  us  on  the  borders 
of  the  wilderness  from  whence  the  messao;e  is  sent  to  the  kino-. 

The  territory  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  which  the  kings 
Sihon  and  Og  possessed,  did  not,  properly  speaking,  belong  to 
the  Promised  Land,  as  this  especially  appears  from  the  transac- 
tions of  ch.  xxxi.  Other  places  seem  to  contradict  this,  where 
all  the  land  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  river  of  Egypt  is  pro- 
mised to  the  Israelites  (cf  Gen.  xv.  18,  note).  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  distinction  to  be  made  between  that  which  formed  the 
exact  substance  of  the  promise,  and  that  which  is  added  as  an 
after-gift  for  the  greater  glory  of  the  kingdom  of  God.     Canaan 


496  NUMBERS  XXT.  22-35. 

proper  is  the  land  this  side  Jordan  :  to  this  district  belonged 
more  or  less  of  the  lands  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  valley  of 
the  Nile — at  the  time  of  Israel's  greatest  glory,  all  this  region. 
Since  now  the  war  of  extermination  as  a  Divine  punishment 
threatened  only  the  Canaanites  proper  on  this  side  the  Jordan, 
Sihon  and  Og  became  implicated  in  it  by  their  refusal  of  a  pas- 
sage through  their  country,  and  at  the  very  outset  the  land  of 
the  people  of  God  was  extended  far  towards  the  west.  Espe- 
cially did  the  Israelites  possess  the  fruitful  hill-country  of  Gilead 
with  its  many  towns,  and  the  rich  pasture  land  of  Basan. 

Ver.  22.  Fast  thy  borders. — They  offered  them  the  same  con- 
ditions as  before  to  the  Edomites  :  ch.  xx.  17,  19. 

Ver.  24.  Was  strong. — And  besides,  they  were  forbidden  to 
take  possession  of  their  land  :  Deut.  ii.  19. 

Ver.  27.  In  proverbs. — Lit.:  "Therefore  say  the  poets"  (the 
authors  of  proverbs).  The  following  verses  are  out  of  the  book 
quoted  ver.  14.  Every  new  victory  awoke  new  enthusiasm, 
which  expressed  itself  in  songs  of  triumph. 

Ver.  30.  Medeba. — The  meaning  of  these  triumphant  prover- 
bial sayings  is  this:  "  Heshbon,  the  chief  city  of  the  Amorites,  lies 
overthrown.  Victorious  Israel  challenges  all  to  build  her  again  as 
its  capital.  In  order  now  better  to  depict  the  greatness  and  glory 
of  the  city,  the  poet  alludes  to  its  former  power,  when  from 
thence  Ar,  the  capital  of  Moab,  and  Bamoth  (the  heights)  on 
Arnon,  were  conquered  and  destroyed — when  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  the  Moabites,  the  people  of  the  Moabitish  and  Ammon- 
itish  idol  Chemosh,  were  led  captive  by  Sihon.  Israel  has  now 
destroyed  the  glory  of  this  town — has  thrown  down  the  mighty 
people  with  their  spears." — Heshbon  is  still  found  on  the  end  of 
the  Wady  Hesban,  as  also  are  places  uiider  the  names  Diban 
and  Madeba.  Hesban  is  entirely  in  ruins,  but  these  bear  evi- 
dence to  the  considerable  circumference  and  splendour  of  the 
ancient  town.  Madeba  lies  on  a  hill,  and  is  about  two  miles  in 
circumference. 

Ver.  35.  Possessed  the  land. — This  victory  is  more  circum- 
stantially related,  Deut.  iii.  1,  etc. 


NUMBERS  XXII.  497 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


Before  the  Israelites,  now  on  tlie  threshold  of  the  Promised 
Land,  can  enter  into  it,  they  experience  in  a  wonderful  way 
the  ])rotection  of  their  God  in  a  situation  which  altogether 
transports  us  to  the  spirit  of  the  farthest  antiquity.  After  the 
victories  obtained  over  Sihon  and  Og,  the  people  seem  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Moabites  to  be  extremely  dangerous.  King  Balak 
does  not  venture  to  attack  them ;  but  he  has  recourse  to  a 
genuine  heathen  means  of  defence.  He  hires,  for  a  great  sum, 
a  celebrated  soothsayer  to  curse  Israel.  The  person  and  the 
history  of  this  man  are  in  every  point  of  view  very  remarkable, 
and  appear  full  of  strange  inconsistencies.  He  stands  in  the 
service  of  the  true  God,  without  whom  he  does  not  venture  to 
speak  anything ;  and  yet  he  soothsays  for  hire  at  the  bidding 
of  a  heathen  prince.  God  forbids  him  to  go,  yet  lets  him 
go,  and  then  threatens  him  with  death  for  going.  In  the  pro- 
})hccies  uttered  by  Balaam  (which  are  some  of  the  most  poetic, 
sublime,  and  instructive  in  the  O.  T.),  he  shows  the  deepest 
insight  into  the  destiny  and  future  fate  of  Israel,  as  well  as  the 
most  accurate  acquaintance  with  their  past  history.  And  the 
end  of  this  man,  who  uttered  such  glorious  prophecies,  which 
could  proceed  fi'om  God  only,  is  death  by  the  sword  of  Israel 
(ch.  xxxi.  8).  All  this  is  explained,  if  we  think  of  the  matter 
thus  :  Balaam  was  a  heathen,  dwelling  at  Pethor  on  the  Eu- 
phrates, and  for  a  long  time  famed  as  a  great  soothsayer  and 
sorcerer.  It  would  be  altogther  a  mistake  here,  as  was  re- 
marked before,  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptian  magicians  (Exod.  vii. 
11),  to  regard  this  gift  as  mere  fancy,  and  its  eii'ects  as  trickery 
and  superstition.  With  a  natural  faculty  for  spiritual  im- 
pressions, Balaam  might  well  be  supposed,  by  aid  of  the  powers 
of  darkness,  which  really  had  influence  in  the  heathen  world,  to 
have  worked  wonderful  effects.  But,  at  the  same  time,  either 
what  had  been  preserved  from  earlier  times  of  God's  revelation 
among  the  family  of  Eber,  or  what  Balaam  had  heaixl  of  God's 
doings  for  the  freeing  of  His  people  from  Egypt,  had  made  so 
strong  an  impression  on  Balaam,  that  he,  like  Jethro  (Exod. 
xviii.  11),  acknowledged  Jehovah  to  be  mightier  than  all  gods. 

2  I 


498  NUMBERS  XXII. 

He  acknowledged  Him  for  his  own  God ;  and  the  knowledge  of 
this,  that  Balaam  served  this  God — that  he,  after  the  heathen  no- 
tion, partook  of  His  might,  and  was  in  a  position  to  have  influence 
with  Him,  moved  Balak  to  hire  him  against  the  people  of  Jehovah. 
He  was,  therefore,  to  be  compared  with  those  who  cast  out  devils 
in  the  name  of  Jesus,  but  did  not  follow  Him  (St  Mark  ix.  38  ; 
St  Luke  ix.  49)  ;  as  likewise  in  disposition  and  intention  with 
Simon  Magus  (Acts  viii.  18).  Just  as  we  find  in  the  case  of 
Laban  the  worship  of  the  true  God  mixed  up  with  the  worship 
of  idols ;  and  as  we  see  that  Melchisedek,  who  did  not  belong  to 
the  covenant-religion,  was  a  priest  of  the  Most  High  God ;  in 
like  manner  could  God  have  a  prophet  even  among  those  who 
were  without,  in  whose  mind  and  belief  there  was  a  miserable 
mixture  of  truth  and  falsehood.  We  find  even  in  the  N.  T.  a 
gift  of  prophecy,  which  made  those  who  possessed  it  capable  of 
uttering  divinely-given  revelations,  but  on  whose  minds,  in  the 
time  of  inspiration,  also  occasionally,  strange  evil  spirits  worked ; 
therefore  the  apostles  fi-equently  exhort  their  converts  to  try  the 
spirits  (Rom.  xii.  6 ;  1  Cor.  xii.  1 ;  1  Thess.  v.  20 ;  1  St  John  iv. 
1).  From  such  the  prophets,  who  were  God's  regular  instru- 
ments in  His  Church,  are  to  be  carefully  distinguished.  These 
spoke  constantly  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and 
though  they  did  not  foresee  all  the  future  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
but  each  one  had  his  appointed  measure  of  knowledge,  "  yet  God 
did  nothing  in  His  Church  which  He  did  not  reveal  to  His  ser- 
vants the  prophets"  (Amos  iii.  7);  moreover,  their  predictions  were 
founded  on  pure  doctrine,  and  had  no  other  object  in  view  than 
the  entire  glory  of  God's  kingdom  on  earth.  But  in  Balaam 
we  see  a  prophet  who  possessed  a  certain  gift  nearly  allied  to  a 
natural  endowment,  by  means  of  which  he  said  what  was  true 
in  the  service  of  God  ;  but  he  used  in  addition  his  dark  unholy 
art,  through  which  he  was  unable  to  discern  the  truth  with  clear- 
ness. His  greediness  after  reward,  nourished  as  it  was  by  his 
practice  as  soothsayer,  blinded  his  eyes ;  and  as  king  Balak,  in  a 
regular  heathen  manner,  regards  him  as  a  power  whose  workings 
reach  into  the  spiritual  world,  nay,  even  had  influence  enough 
to  eff'ect  a  change  in  the  purposes  of  God,  so  does  Balaam,  al- 
though as  a  prophet  concerning  Israel  he  knows  himself  to  be  in 
God's  power,  still  hope  to  unite  the  service  of  God  with  the 
service  of  the  king,  perhaps  to  bring  about  a  change  in  God's 


NUMBERS  XXII.  1-7.  499 

designs,  or  to  be  able  to  wait  for  it ;  perhaps  he  intended,  after 
the  manner  of  many  heathen  oracles,  to  have  recourse  to  double 
meanings  in  his  answer.  At  first,  before  he  had  fully  given  up 
himself  to  the  power  of  sin,  God  forbids  him  to  go  with  the 
messengers ;  but  the  more  he,  though  actually  obedient,  longs 
after  the  wages  of  sin,  so  the  more  does  God  give  him  over  to 
the  power  of  darkness, — puts  him  to  shame  by  means  of  his  ass, 
and  compels  him  at  last  to  give  utterance  to  the  very  opposite  of 
that  which  he,  in  his  evil  desire,  wished  to  say. 

Ver.  1.  By  Jericho ;  i.e.,  in  the  part  of  Arabali  which  belonged 
to  Moab  before  Sihon  had  conquered  the  land  as  far  as  Anion, 
which  the  Israelites  had  taken  from  him. 

Ver.  4.  Elders  of  Midian. — Scarcely  here  the  same  people, 
dwelling  on  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  to  which  Moses  fled  out  of 
Egypt ;  but  a  branch  of  the  same  race,  which,  according  to  Gen. 
xxxvi.  35,  lived  a  considerable  time  with  Moab, — was  made 
tributary  by  Sihon  (Joshua  xiii.  21),  and  afterwards  in  connec- 
tion with  other  people  oppressed  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  5.  By  the  river ;  i.e.,  the  Euphrates.  The  name  of  the 
place  does  not  elsewhere  occur. 

Ver.  6.  Is  cursed. — That  the  power  should  be  given  to  Balaam 
to  curse  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  the  true  God,  His  own  people, 
is  of  course  altogether  absurd.  But  it  may  perhaps  be  imagined 
that  he  Avho,  like  Bethuel  and  Laban,  together  with  the  true 
God  honoured  also  other  gods,  had  in  their  name  by  his  arts 
often  spread  blessings  or  curses ;  and  so  that  after  a  time,  when 
he  had  become  blinded  by  the  greed  of  gain,  he  hoped  the  same 
power  might  be  allowed  him  by  Jehovah.  From  this  is  explained 
Deut.  xxiii.  6. 

Ver.  7.  Elders  of  Midian. — Both  people  had  a  government  of 
their  tribes  similar  to  that  of  the  Israelites,  above  which,  in  the 
case  of  the  Moabites,  a  king  was  placed. 

Ver.  7.  Reioards  of  divination. — The  soothsayers  were  always 
accustomed  to  offer  their  art  for  sale  for  money.  Even  among 
the  Israelites  this  was  the  practice  (no  doubt  in  corrupt  times), 
to  take  a  present  to  the  seers,  1  Sam.  ix.  7.  The  word  "  sooth- 
saying, soothsayer,"  which  always  is  used  in  speaking  of  Balaam 
(Joshua  xiii.  22),  shows  that  he  could  not  be  a  genuine  prophet 
of  the  true  God ;  that  at  all  events,  together  with  the  service 
paid  to  Him,  he  made  use  of  arts  which  the  law  and  the  prophets 


500  NUMBERS  XXII.  8-14. 

constantly  rejected :  Deut.  xviii.  10 ;  Ezek.  xiii.  9,  23 ;  Jer. 
xiv.  14.  Still  it  may  be  supposed  that  God,  while  He  forbade  to 
His  people,  to  whom  He  revealed  Himself  by  His  priests  and  pro- 
phets, the  whole  dangerous  province  of  heathen  magical  art,  was 
more  indulgent  to  the  heathen  because  they  had  not  His  guid- 
ance :  cf.  Balaam's  words,  eh.  xxiii.  23,  and  the  whole  place, 
Deut.  ix.  9-19. 

Ver.  8.  Tills  night. — Because  he  received  his  revelations  in 
visions  by  night,  as,  afterwards,  he  falls  down  with  his  eyes  closed 
in  a  kind  of  trance  (ch.  xxiv.  4).  Similar  appearances  happened 
also  in  the  case  of  the  real  prophets ;  only  with  this  difference, 
that  these  latter  were  able  to  declare  and  explain  consciously 
and  clearly  that  which  they  had  received  in  a  vision  or  a  trance, 
because  it  agreed  with  the  revelation  they  had  hitherto  had,  and 
with  the  word  of  God  within  them. 

Ver.  9.  What  men  are  these  t — This  question  is  a  reproof  to 
Balaam's  conscience.  It  was  designed  that  by  means  of  his 
answer  he  should  become  conscious  of  the  rising  feeling  of  greed 
of  reward  concealed  in  his  heart.  The  after  prophecies  of 
Balaam  show  how  well  acquainted  he  was  with  the  doings  of  God 
towards  this  people.  By  them  he  had  been  led  to  acknowledge 
the  power  of  Jehovah.  It  was  sinful,  then,  that  with  such  know- 
ledge he  should  yet  inquire  of  the  Lord. 

Ver.  13.  Give  me  leave. — Balaam  did  not  report  the  answer  of 
the  Lord  truly  to  the  messengers.  Had  he  told  them  that  the 
people,  as  one  blessed  by  the  Lord,  could  not  be  cursed  by  His 
prophet,  they  would  not  have  returned.  The  same  disingenuous- 
ness  is  afterwards  repeated  in  the  discourses  of  Balaam. 

Ver.  14.  Refuseth. — Here  also,  perhaps,  there  is  an  untrue 
suppression.  The  words  were  intended  to  convey,  which,  perhaps, 
the  messengers  might  have  observed,  that  Balaam  was  eager  after 
the  reward. 

On  Balak's  second  invitation,  God  permits  Balaam  to  go  with 
the  messengers,  but  at  the  same  time  is  angry  with  him  because 
he  went ;  both  of  which  agree  perfectly  well  with  what  Balaam, 
ch.  xxiii.  19,  says  of  God.  By  the  first  decided  and  satisfactory 
refusal  God  willed  to  repress  his  avarice,  and  to  give  a  helping 
hand  to  his  better  feelings.  But  when  the  greater  honours  and 
gifts  excite  Balaam's  avarice,  sin  obtains  the  upper  hand,  and  so 
God  can  be  no  more  glorified  by  his  obedience ;  and  thus  He  will, 


NUMBERS  XXII.   17,  20.  oOl 

as  Avenger  of  his  disobedience,  be  sanctified  in  him,  and  yet  in 
such  a  manner  tliat,  step  by  step,  He  gives  him  room  for  repent- 
ance, while  He  holds  him  as  it  were  by  a  chain,  and  does  not 
suffer  him  to  give  more  than  He  pleases.  This  is  especially  the 
object  in  view  in  the  incident  of  the  ass.  On  this  depends  its 
deep  significance.  Balaam  is  confident  in  his  gift  of  soothsaying, 
as  though  it  was  his  own  property.  Possessed  of  this,  he  thinks 
he  cannot  miss  the  reward,  when  suddenly,  by  this  event,  his 
true  relation  to  the  gift  is  made  known.  The  seer  who  boasts 
that  the  eyes  of  his  mind  are  open  (ch.  xxiv.  4,  16)  becomes 
blind.  In  his  stead  the  beast  receives  the  higher  vision  ;  and 
thus  is  declared  to  him  that  it  is  God's  free  grace  to  which  he 
owes  the  gift  of  second  sight,  and  that  his  beast  is  more  capable 
of  perceiving  things  out  of  the  higher  world  than  an  impure  man, 
whom  sinful  desire  has  blinded.  Nay,  the  punishment  goes  be- 
yond this  :  the  prophet  who  can  no  longer  see  anything  becomes 
also  dumb,  and  the  ass  prophesies  in  his  stead.  This  is  clearly 
the  meaning  of  the  history,  whether  we  consider  it  as  an  event 
which  really  and  outwardly  happened,  or  as  a  vision  represented 
by  God  before  the  mind  of  the  prophet,  by  which  the  conduct  of 
the  ass  was  explained.  An  argument  in  favour  of  the  opinion 
that  it  was  not  a  mere  vision  but  an  actual  event,  seems  to  be 
this — that  the  transaction  is  related  just  like  the  rest  of  the 
history,  but  more  particularly,  because  God  designed  to  show 
Balaam  how  He  could  take  away  a  gift  from  the  prophet  and 
transfer  it  to  his  beast ;  but  this  a  vision,  however  significant, 
would  not  have  told  him ;  nay,  when  afterwards  he  understood 
it  to  be  a  vision,  that  very  impression  must  have  been  destroyed. 
What  the  ass  says  is  merely  the  expression  of  her  animal  feeling, 
only  uttered  in  human  language ;  but  it  is  not  the  expression  of 
any  thought,  since  an  animal  is  incapable  of  this. 

What  the  ass  therefore  says,  is  of  less  moment  in  the  history 
than  the  fact  that  she  really  has  spoken.  That  the  organs  of 
speech  are  wanting  to  an  animal,  is  no  more  an  objection  against 
the  miracle  than  that  human  skill  was  not  applied  to  supply 
bread  for  the  5000,  or  wine  at  the  marriage-feast  of  Cana,  and 
must  be  replaced  by  God's  creative  power. 

Ver.  17.  Promote  thee. — Probably  at  the  first  message  Balaam's 
ambition  had  been  seen  through. 

Ver.  20.  Shalt  thou  do. — As   God   ofttimes   appears  not  to 


502  NUMBERS  XXII.  22-38. 

hear  the  prayers  of  His  servants,  so  sometimes  does  He  appear 
to  hear  the  prayers  of  the  ungodly ;  but  the  event  explains  the 
mystery. 

Ver.  22.  Two  servants. — Some  event  might  very  well  out- 
wardly happen  while  their  eyes  were  holden  from  seeing,  just  as 
the  companions  of  St  Paul  before  Damascus  saw  a  light  which 
blinded  them,  and  heard  a  voice  yet  saw  no  form  and  understood 
no  words :  cf.  Acts  ix.  7,  ch.  xxii.  9  ;  and  also  St  John  xii.  29, 
note. 

Ver.  29.  Would  kill  thee. — The  reason  that  Balaam  does  not 
show  any  astonishment  at  the  speaking  of  the  ass,  was  because 
the  appearing  of  -the  angel,  though  without  his  being  conscious 
of  it,  placed  him  in  that  higher  state,  in  which  he  not  only 
heard  what  took  place,  but  was  able  to  comprehend  the  meaning 
of  the  event,  whereas  mere  alarm  at  a  supernatural  event  would 
have  hindered  his  doing  so. 

Ver.  32.  Perverse  before  me. — The  angel  treats  him  as  respon- 
sible for  not  having  seen  anything.  It  was  Balaam's  sin  that  he 
had  lost  the  gift  of  higher  vision.  By  this  meeting  of  the  angel, 
Balaam  ought  to  have  perceived  his  great  guilt,  and  that  the 
Lord  had  given  him  permission  to  go,  notwithstanding  his  for- 
mer prohibition,  because  He  saw  that  he  lusted  after  the  wages 
of  unrighteousness.  Still  he  might  understand  that  his  way 
could  never  lead  to  happiness  and  blessing. 

Ver.  33.  Saved  her  alive. — The  ass  had  thus  saved  him.  She 
is  therefore  represented  as  more  obedient  than  himself. 

Ver.  34.  Back  again. — Without  real  confession  of  his  sin,  and 
without  repentance  on  account  of  it,  excusing  himself  merely  on 
the  plea  of  ignorance,  Balaam  would  return  :  but  with  such  a  dis- 
position as  this,  he  is  rather  designed  to  become  an  example  of 
God's  chastening  punishment  than  of  repentance. 

Ver.  36.  A  city  of  Moah. — The  city  of  Moab,  elsewhere  also 
called  Ar  of  Moab,  was  situated  on  Arnon  :  formerly  the  centre 
of  the  land,  but,  since  Sihon's  conquest,  on  its  extreme  northern 
boundary. 

Ver.  38.  Shall  I  speak.— Here  we  see  the  double-mindedness 
in  Balaam's  conduct,  by  which  he  hoped  to  serve  God  and 
Mammon.  Though  he  knew  full  well  that  God  had  forbidden 
him  the  journey,  he  makes  as  though  he  had  wished  him  to  come, 
nnd  only  the  fear  of  not  being  able  to  please  Balak  had  withheld 


NUMBERS  XXII.  39  ;   XXIII.  2,  9.  503 

liim.     At  the  same  time  he  provides  for  any  future  chances,  in 
case  this  double-minded  conduct  should  not  succeed. 

Ver.  39.  Kirjath-Huzoth. — City  of  Streets — a  good  name  for  a 
large  place. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  prediction  favourable  to  his  wishes,  Balak 
brings  at  first  a  sacrifice  for  himself  alone.  Then  he  places 
Balaam  on  the  height  of  Baal,  a  distant  point,  from  which  he 
sees  the  end  of  the  people ;  i.e.,  overlooks  the  whole.  Balaam 
goes  aside — he  receives  a  divine  revelation  in  a  vision,  and  what 
he  then  receives  he  is  obliged  afterwards  to  utter.  The  bodily 
glance  has  opened  to  hira,  through  the  power  of  God's  Spirit, 
an  insight  into  the  spiritual  state  of  Israel.  He  recognises  the 
marks  which  form  the  peculiarity  of  Israel,  and  utters  them  in 
impassioned  words. 

Ver.  2.  ^1  ram. — Balaam,  as  he  also  entertained  heathen 
notions  of  the  true  God  and  of  his  relation  to  Him,  caused  an 
offering  to  be  brought  by  Balak,  to  determine  whether  it  were 
perhaps  possible  to  make  Him  as  favourable  as  he  wished  Him 
to  be ;  or,  perhaps  also,  by  an  unfavourable  result,  to  justify 
himself,  that  nothing  on  his  part  had  been  neglected. 

Ver.  9.  Behold  him. — He  saw  Israel,  indeed,  from  the  height 
with  his  bodily  eyes,  but  here  especially  is  the  glance  of  the 
spirit  meant.  He  beholds,  as  he  overlooks  the  tents  of  the  people, 
guided  by  the  Spirit,  his  spiritual  existence,  his  glorious  destiny. 
The  "  for"  is  here  very  significant :  I  see  him  as  one  blessed  by 
God ;  therefore  can  I  not  curse  him. 

Among  the  nations. — The  dwelling  alone  is  explained  by  this. 
In  the  midst  of  its  intercourse  with  the  nations,  should  Israel 
form  a  people  by  itself.  Its  peculiarity  should  consist  in  the  fact, 
that  it  should  walk  a  road  by  itself  through  history.  This  token 
is  naturally  not  to  be  taken  outwardly,  as  though  it  belonged  to 
Israel  as  a  people ;  but  it  belongs  to  that  peculiar  destiny  which 
is  expressed,  Gen.  xii.  3.  This  mark  has  now,  since  the  earthly 
Israel  has  fulfilled  its  purpose,  passed  on  to  the  spiritual  Israel, 


504  NUMBERS  XXIII.  10,   14. 

the  covenant  people  of  the  New  Testament.  The  congregation 
of  the  Lord  is  a  pecuhar  kingdom  among  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  and  will  outlast  them  all.  But  as  Israel  often  resembled 
the  heathen  and  lost  its  independence  of  them,  so  has  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  by  outward  and  inward  corruption,  often  forfeited  its 
privileges  which  were  promised  it ;  and,  accordingly,  these  words 
contain  an  exhortation  as  well  as  a  prediction. 

Ver.  10.  Fourth  part-  of  Israel. — The  immense  increase  and 
spread  of  the  people  is  the  second  thing  which  he  sees.  This 
token,  likewise,  is  not  to  be  confined  to  the  temporal  ancient 
Israel;  the  whole  Church  of  the  Lord,  that  also  of  the  New 
Testament,  is  included  under  it.  The  whole  multitude  of  the 
people  whom  Balaam  saw  before  him  was  the  occasion  of  his 
looking  forward  to  the  fulness  of  time,  when  this  host  shall  have 
multiplied  more  than  a  thousandfold. 

Like  his. — He  calls  Israel  "  the  righteous" — i.e.,  the  upright, 
just — because  the  Lord,  the  Holy  and  Just  One,  who  is  Himself 
designated  by  these  words,  "just  and  right"  (Deut.  xxxii.  4), 
dwelt  among  them  and  sanctified  them.  That  the  fact  often 
contradicted  the  name,  is,  in  the  case  of  this  token  as  the  two 
other  forenamed  ones,  quite  true  ;  but  the  suitableness  of  the 
appellation  is  not  therefore  lost.  It  was  Israel's  lot  to  be  the 
congregation  of  the  Lord ;  and  by  means  of  this  lot,  determined 
by  God,  they  were  His  congregation  before  all  other  people. 
This  privilege  also  has  passed  over  to  the  spiritual  Israel.  The 
life  of  these  righteous  ones  appears  to  Balaam  so  blessed  and 
happy,  that  their  end,  as  the  peaceful  conclusion  of  a  glorious 
day,  is  the  subject  of  his  longing — perhaps  not  without  a  fore- 
boding of  his  own  premature,  violent  death. 

The  ground  which  Balak  now  causes  him  to  take,  is  nearer 
than  the  former.  Perhaps  he  believed  that  by  the  nearness  he 
would  be  able  to  work  his  incantations  with  better  effect,  if  now 
the  Lord  shall  have  changed  His  purpose  through  the  sacrifices 
of  His  servant.  But  the  second  prediction  even  exceeds  the 
first.  Here  the  people  appears  as  the  holy  people,  because  the 
Lord  dwells  among  them.  He  has  led  them  out,  He  makes 
known  to  them  continually  His  will :  He  gives  them  irresistible 
power  and  victory  over  all  their  enemies. 

Ver.  14.  Flsgah. — This  height  lay,  according  to  ch.  xxi.  20, 
near  the  former  encampment  of  the  Israelites  before  they  came 


NUJEBERS  XXIII.  18-28.  505 

to  "the  field  ofMoab,"  ch,  xxii.  1,  and  therefore  nearer  than  the 
former  point,  but  still  distant.  He  overlooked,  indeed,  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  host  from  thence,  but  not  the  whole,  as  compared 
with  what  follows. 

Ver.  18.  Rise  up. — Equivalent  to  "Observe I" 

Ver.  19.  Not  make  it  good. — These  magnificent  words  relate 
especially  to  God's  unchangeable  counsel,  as  He  had  I'evealed  it  in 
the  preservation  of  His  people  out  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  covenant 
which  after  that  He  had  made  with  them.  Balak  shall  not  be 
able,  with  all  his  bribes,  sacrifices,  etc.,  to  alter  this.  This  ex- 
pression is  a  confirmation  of  the  truth,  that  God  has  never  in  the 
history  before  us  changed  His  purpose.  A  repetition  of  the  same 
expression,  1  Sam.  xv.  29,  has  a  similar  meaning. 

Ver.  21.  Perverseness  in  Israel. — Heb.:  "No  wickedness  in 
Jacob,  no  grief  in  Israel."  The  former  word  expresses  the  sin, 
the  latter  the  punishment  of  it.  The  same  holds  good  of  this 
expression  which  was  remarked  of  Israel  in  the  first  prediction. 
Balaam  sees  the  glorious  destiny  of  the  people,  and  its  future  ful- 
filment in  the  cono;reG;ation  of  the  saints. 

Shout  of  a  king. — The  shout  of  a  king  betokens  the  solemn  fes- 
tive music  at  his  appearing.  Joy  reigns  at  the  perpetual  presence 
of  this  great  king  among  the  people. 

Ver.  22.    Unicorn. — Heb. :  "  His  vigour  is  that  of  a  buffalo." 

Ver.  23.  God  lorought. — Because  God  is  among  them  the 
people  did  not  need  the  uncertain,  deceptive  arts  of  divination 
and  soothsaying.  When  the  proper  time  arrives,  God  makes 
known  to  them  His  counsels. 

Ver.  24.  Of  the  slain. — This  invincible  strength  tells  Balak, 
therefore,  what  he  has  to  expect  from  every  attempt  against  this 
people. 

Ver.  25.  Nor  bless  them  at  all.. — If  thou  ^^'ilt  not  curse,  thou 
oughtest  at  least  not  to  bless  them.  Balak  thereby  intimates 
that  it  was  treacherous  on  Balaam's  part  to  act  against  the  very 
purpose  for  which  he  was  called. 

Ver.  28.  .leshimon. — Lit.,  "  The  wilderness."  Peor  is  the 
mountain  which  rises  above  the  wilderness  which  stretches  north- 
ward from  the  Dead  Sea  to  Jordan.  Balak  at  first  thought  it 
good  for  Balaam  not  to  overlook  the  whole  encampment  of  Israel. 
Now,  however,  he  is  more  and  more  impressed  with  the  notion, 
that  the  nearer  he  stood  the  more  would  he  be  able  to  work  with 


506  NUMBERS  XXIV.  1-5. 

his  incantations  on  Israel.  And  now  he  is  placed  so  that  he 
overlooks  the  whole  of  the  people  in  their  camp.  The  prediction 
still  gains  in  vividness. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Ver.  1.  To  seek  for  enchantments. — Heb. :  "To  the  meeting  of 
signs " — auguries,  omens.  We  find,  accordingly,  that  in  his 
former  predictions  "  he  went  if  the  Lord  met  with  him;"  there- 
fore he  used  his  accustomed  means,  in  order,  by  the  appearance 
of  certain  signs  and  the  application  of  certain  means,  to  put  him- 
self into  a  state  of  greater  spiritual  elevation.  Now,  when  he  was 
certified  that  he  should  receive  no  other  answer  from  God,  and 
that  the  Lord,  so  soon  as  he  offered  himself  as  an  instrument, 
would  fill  him  with  His  Spirit,  he  remained  in  his  usual  state, 
and  merely  allowed  the  sight  of  the  Israelitish  camp  to  work  its 
influence  on  him. 

Ver.  2.  Spirit  of  God. — Expressly  to  designate  what  follows 
as  a  Divine  revelation. 

Ver.  3.  Are  open. — Heb.:  "Of  closed  eyes;"  as  also  ver.  15. 

Ver.  4.  Falling  into  a  trance. — Balaam  announces  his  prophetic 
gift  in  exalted  language.  His  prophecies  become  more  elevated 
as  more  glorious  and  extended  prospects  are  revealed  to  him. 
The  state  of  his  own  mind  likewise  appears  to  have  undergone  a 
corresponding  change.  He  calls  himself  the  man  "of  closed  eye" 
in  order  to  depict  the  condition  of  rapture,  in  which  the  outward 
senses  are  closed,  the  inward  are  opened.  That  this  opening 
takes  place  when  "  he  falls  into  a  trance,"  is  signified  by  the 
violent  agitations  under  which  the  revelations  are  imparted  to 
him.  Of  this  we  have  examples  even  in  the  case  of  genuine 
prophets  (cf.  Rev.  i.  17),  though  in  their  case  this  was  not  the 
rule,  as  it  appears  to  have  been  with  Balaam. 

Ver.  5.  Tabernacles. — The  sight  of  the  actual  tents  in  the 
camp  of  the  Israelites  transports  his  view  to  the  dwellings  of 
Israel,  crowned  with  all  manner  of  blessing  from  the  fulness  of 
the  Lord.  Their  whole  earthly  well-being  has  its  source  in  the 
unfailing  streams  which  flow  from  God  to  His  people. 


NUMBERS  XXIV.  6-17.  507 

Ver.  6.  Lign-aloes. — The  tree  (Alialim)  here  meant  is  that 
which  the  Greeks  called  Agellochus,  the  moderns  the  Tree  of 
Paradise — a  fragrant  tree  which  flourishes  especially  in  the 
Moluccas  and  in  India,  and  is  there  highly  prized.  These  trees 
and  the  cedars  are  often  mentioned  in  the  O.  T.  as  the  most 
noble  which  the  vegetable  kingdom  produces. 

Ver.  7.  Of  his  btcckets. — Lit.,  "water  shall  flow  from  both  his 
buckets."  The  people  is  thought  of  as  a  water-drawer,  from  both 
of  whose  buckets,  as  he  carries  them,  the  beneficent  stream  pours 
forth. 

Many  icaters. — His  whole  posterity  shall  continually  dwell  in 
the  abundance  of  all  means  of  life.  Every  kind  of  fruitfulness 
is  in  the  East  cormected  with  water,  and  hence  the  frequent  and 
stronrr  figures  drawn  from  it. 

Agag. — Agag  was  the  name  or  standing  title  of  all  kings  of 
the  Amalekites  (cf.  1  Sam.  xv.),  as  Pharaoh  was  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. Balaam  in  spirit  sees  a  king  at  the  head  of  the  people,  who 
had  hitherto  lived  in  the  patriarchal  constitution  of  tribes  ;  and 
that  with  the  rise  of  this  dignity  the  power  of  Israel  would  re- 
ceive a  fresh  impulse.  With  this  kingdom  also  was  the  eternal 
kingdom  connected,  which  the  promised  Son  of  David  founded  on 
earth. 

Ver.  9.  Stir  him  iqj. — The  words  are  out  of  Jacob's  prophecy 
about  Judah,  Gen.  xlix.  9.  There  they  are  spoken  of  the  kingly 
leading  tribe ;  here  very  suitably  repeated  in  reference  to  the 
power  which  will  proceed  from  Israel's  kings. 

Ver.  10.  Smote  his  hands. — A  sign  of  his  displeasure  and  con- 
tempt— that  he  would  dismiss  Balaam  from  his  presence. 

Ver.  14.  And  now  behold. — The  last  prediction  of  Balaam 
exceeds  in  every  respect  the  earlier  ones.  The  blessing  of  God 
and  His  power  are  not  merely  spoken  of  in  general  terms,  but  one 
neighbouring  people  after  another  having  been  compared  with 
Israel,  and  their  future  destiny  declared,  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
stands  forth  cleai'ly  as  the  eternal  kingdom  of  God  on  earth, 
out  of  these  ruins  of  the  powers  of  the  world. 

Ver.  17.  A^ot  nigh. — The  vision  of  the  spirit  into  the  far  future 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  opened  to  him.  He  whom  he  sees  is 
the  Star  whose  rising  he  afterwards  depicts. 

Children  of  Sheth. — Heb.:  "  All  the  sons  of  tumult ;"  all  the 
warlike,  imquiet  people  around.     This  Star  and  this  sceptre  is, 


508  NUMBERS  XXIV.  18-21. 

l^rimarily,  the  kingdom  in  the  visible  people  of  Israel,  which 
should  unite  and  rally  round  it  the  entire  power  of  the  people, 
and  come  forth  to  attack  other  powers.  In  actual  fact,  with 
David,  the  first  king  of  Israel  after  God's  heartj^there  began  a 
power  and  vigour  of  the  people  never  yet  known.  He  subdued 
under  him  Israel's  restless  neighbours,  particularly  Moab.  But 
it  is  not  this  particular  king,  nor  his  outward  victory  over^Moab, 
which  is  alone  meant.  The  King  of  Israel  is  generally  designated 
whose  completion  appears  in  Jesus  Christ;  and  the  people  whom 
He  subdues  are  the  heathen  nations  generally,  of  whom  Moab 
and  Edom  are  types.  This  Star  out  of  Jacob  is  to  be  regarded 
as  the  soul  of  the  whole  prophecy ;  the  subjugation  of  the  rest 
of  the  people,  which  is  now  narrated,  is  His  work. 

Ver.  18.  Do  valiantly. — Lit.,  "  Israel  practises  might,"  as  Ps, 
Ix.  14,  cxviii.  15,  16.  Edom  is  the  people,  Seir  their  land  :  cf. 
Gen.  xxvii.  39,  note.  Israel,  indeed,  has  expressly  been  enjoined 
to  maintain  peaceable  and  friendly  relations  with  the  Edomites 
(Deut.  ii.  5,  6).  But  as  the  Edomites  repeatedly  attacked  Israel, 
they  were  first  subdued  by  David  (according  to  1  Sam.  viii.  14). 
In  the  prophets  they  often  are  regarded  as  the  emblem  of  the 
heathen  (who  are  to  be  subdued  by,  and  incorporated  into,  the 
kingdom  of  God),  especially  in  the  principal  place,  Amos  ix.  12, 
which  St  James  explains  of  all  the  heathen,  Acts  xv.  17. 

Ver.  19.  Of  the  city. — Who,  in  the  taking  of  the  city,  has 
escaped  destruction. 

Ver.  20.  Looked  on  Amaleh. — In  spirit ;  since,  from  the  situa- 
tion he  occupied,  he  could  not  see  this  people,  who  dwelt  on  the 
Sinaitic  peninsula  connected  with  the  Edomites, 

Perish  for  ever. — This  people,  who  then  were  in  the  flower  of 
their  vigour,  and  were  by  far  the  most  eminent  among  these 
petty  nations,  had  at  their  first  attack  of  Israel,  indeed,  been  over- 
come, but  on  the  attack,  Num.  xiv.  45,  have  vanquished  their 
former  conquerors,  and  appeared  to  themselves  great  beyond  all 
others.  But  Balaam  foresees  their  overthrow,  more  especially  by 
the  hands  of  Saul,  1  Sam.  xv. 

Ver.  21.  Kenites. — A  Canaanitish  people,  who  lived  probably 
in  the  southern,  mountainous,  hill  country.  They  are  mentioned, 
Gen.  XV.  19,  as  among  the  nations  to  be  subdued  by  Israel. 
They  are  here  (as  elsewhere  the  Amorites)  named  as  a  single 
Canaanite  people  for  the  whole,  because  they  lived  in  the  neigh- 


NUMBERS  XXIV.  22-24.  509 

bourhood,  and  perhaps  in  their  distant  mountain  land  could  be 
descried  from  Mount  Peor. 

Thy  nest. — Nest  is  in  Heb.  "Ken."  There  is  a  play  on  the 
name  of  the  people,  although  this  name  is,  as  the  following  shows, 
to  be  derived  from  their  ancestor  Cain. 

Ver.  22.  Kenite. — Heb. :  "O  Cain!" — wasted,  destroyed. 

Asshur. — The  question  arises.  Who  is  here  addressed  in  the 
second  person  ?  Just  before,  the  words  were  of  course  applied 
to  the  Kenites ;  but  here,  Balaam  speaks  of  them  in  the  third 
person,  and  it  appears,  therefore,  that  the  "  thee "  must  be  re- 
ferred to  another  people — to  the  Israelites  themselves.  "  It  is  a 
harsh  and  forced  construction  to  understand  these  words  of  the 
Kenites,  and  so  the  most  persons  refer  them  to  the  Israelites.  It 
was  surely  the  purpose  of  the  Holy  Spirit — as  if,  so  to  speak.  Pie 
corrected  Himself  and  made  a  digression — to  teach  that  the  hap- 
piness predicted  should  still  be  mingled  with  great  misery.  Ser- 
vitude is  bitter,  but  banishment  still  more  so." — Calvin. 

Ver.  23.  Doeth  this. — "Alas!  who  will  Kve  from  the  placing 
of  these  things  from  God?"  i.e.<,  from  the  time  when  God  brings 
these  things  to  pass.  The  exclamation  Alas !  shows  that  it  is  a 
fearful  misery  which  the  prophet  sees  in  spirit,  so  that  it  seems  as 
though  no  one  coidd  escape  it.  The  Ass}Tian  and  Babylonish 
captivity  was  by  far  the  heaviest  calamity  which  had  befallen 
the  Israelites.  It  would  seem  as  though  they  were  now  utterly 
undone.  He  connects  the  remarkable  end  of  his  predictions  with 
these  words. 

Ver.  24.  Coast  of  Chittim. — Lit,,  "  From  the  side  of  Chittim." 
By  this  name  the  island  Cyprus  is  always  designated  in  the  O. 
T.  It  is  not  here  said  that  the  power  which  was  to  humble  Asia 
should  come  from  thence,  but  only  that  it  should  come  from  that 
side. 

Shall  afflict  Asshur,  shall  afflict  Eber. — By  both  these  names  is 
one  and  the  same  people  and  kingdom  designated,  as  before  in  the 
case  of  the  names  Israel  and  Jacob.  Eber  sixrnifies  "  on  the 
other  side;"  i.e.,  the  land  lying  on  the  other  side  Euphrates. 
Here,  then,  docs  a  prophet  in  the  fifteenth  century  before  Christ 
see  events  which  took  place  in  the  fourth,  which  were  brought 
about  through  the  instrumentality  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and 
of  the  Romans  at  a  later  period ;  moreover,  events  which  no  one 
at  that  time,  nor,  indeed,  so  long  as  Israel  flourished,  could  sur- 


510  NUMBERS  XXIV,  25. 

mise  as  probable,  from  the  appearance  of  the  relation  of  the  diffe- 
rent people  of  the  world.  The  main  thought  of  this  prophecy 
is  therefore  this — the  people  of  God  will  be  raised  again  out  of 
the  most  severe  humiliation,  since  the  Lord,  according  to  His 
promise,  will  show  Himself  "  an  enemy  unto  their  enemies,  and 
an  adversary  unto  their  adversaries"  (Exod.  xxiii.  22).  Israel, 
as  the  people  of  God,  alone  has  the  promise  of  eternity. 

Perish  for  ever ;  i.e.,  Asshur  shall  perish  as  all  the  people  whose 
overthrow  he  has  caused. 

Ver.  25.  Returned  to  his  place ;  i.e.,  he  set  off  on  the  way 
towards  his  home,  but  he  remained  among  the  Midianites,  as  the 
following  history  shows,  and  gave  them,  out  of  revenge,  the 
advice  to  seduce  the  Israelites  by  means  of  sensual  lust,  and 
thereby  secured  his  reward.  The  more  glorious  the  prophecies 
which  he  was  obliged  to  utter,  so  much  the  more,  under  this 
compulsory  office,  did  his  heart  become  alienated  from  God,  and 
he  now  returned  to  the  heathen  position  in  respect  to  Jehovah, 
regarding  Him  as  one  among  many  powerful  Beings.  He 
had  been  obliged  to  experience  that  he  could  not  cope  with 
God  Himself;  but  His  people  was,  as  he  knew,  a  weak,  fickle, 
sensual  people,  and  if  he  could  not  reverse  God's  promises,  yet 
he  hoped  to  alienate  this  His  people  from  Him,  and  thus  to 
undermine  His  power.  It  is  possible  that  in  the  meanwhile  he 
went  to  the  Israelites,  and  carried  to  them  his  prophecies  (which 
had  been  immediately  written  down  by  his  followers),  in  the  hope 
of  winning  them  in  this  way  by  flattery,  but  without  success. 
But  even  without  this  supposition,  we  may  well  conceive  how,  by 
different  witnesses  of  this  wonderful  transaction,  which  must  at 
once  excite  the  greatest  interest  among  the  Israelites,  an  accurate 
account  of  it  was  put  together,  or  communicated  to  Moses. — Thus 
had  the  attempt  to  destroy  by  supernatural  powers  the  ground 
on  which  Israel's  salvation  was  built,  ended  in  a  fresh  glorifying 
of  God,  and  a  strengthening  and  confirmation  of  His  people. 


NUMBERS  XXV.  1-5.  511 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


Balak  designed  to  attack  the  Israelites  openly  by  calling  in 
question  their  election  by  God  and  His  defence  of  them,  and 
attempting  to  assail  this  by  means  of  magical  arts.  On  this  side, 
as  it  was  shown,  the  people  were  invulnerable.  Another  device 
Avas  to  assail  them  as  it  were  covertly,  by  withdrawing  certain 
numbers  of  the  people  from  their  allegiance  to  God  by  means  of 
the  enticements  of  a  sensual  idolatry.  The  people  felt  severely 
the  loss  of  a  worship  such  as  the  heathen  around  them  had,  in 
which,  from  time  to  time,  full  licence  was  given  to  their  sensual 
appetites,  and  in  which  these  received  a  direct  sanction.  This 
is  the  kind  of  abomination  here  spoken  of.  Certain  young 
women,  even  of  higher  rank,  hired  themselves  out  on  certain 
days  in  honour  of  the  gods,  and  gave  the  wages  of  their  prosti- 
tution to  the  treasury  of  the  temple.  It  seems  that  a  feast  held 
in  honour  of  Baal-Peor  (the  god  of  the  sun  worshipped  on  Mount 
Peor  [ch.  xxiii.  28])  gave  the  occasion  to  this  fearful  apostasy, 
in  which  the  Moabites  and  Midianites  appear  again  to  have  been 
allied  :  as  ch.  xxii.  3. 

Ver.  1.  Shittim. — The  last  station  of  the  wilderness,  called 
afterwards  Abel-Shittim  (the  affliction  of  Shittim),  after  the 
punishment  which  followed  there.  It  lay  in  the  country  of 
Moab,  opposite  Jericho.  Here  the  people  remained  a  long  time, 
and  received  the  second  giving  of  the  law. 

Ver.  4.  Against  the  sun. — The  most  ignominious  punishment 
of  death — one  and  the  same  with  the  crucifixion  of  a  later  time. 
The  persons  to  be  executed  were  first  put  to  death,  then  hanged 
up,  and  that  before  the  Lord ;  i.e.,  as  accursed  persons  in  whose 
destruction  He  had  sanctified  Himself.  At  sunsetting  the  bodies 
were  to  be  taken  down  :  cf.  Deut.  xxi.  22,  23 ;  2  Sam.  xxi.  6. 

Ver.  5.  Unto  Baal-Peor. — It  is  remarkable  that  the  command 
of  the  Lord  is  not  carried  into  execution.  It  is  probable  that 
these  judges  were  from  among  the  heads  of  the  people  (cf.  Exod. 
xviii.  25),  and  by  their  faithful  fulfilment  of  this  command  they 
might  have  averted  that  threatened  punishment.  Evei'y  prince 
who  did  not  therefore  punish  his  people  was  made  answerable  for 
it,  and  received  the  severity  of  the  punishment  of  death. 


512  NUMBEBS  XXV.  6-14  ;    XXVI.  3,  7. 

Ver.  6.  Tabernacle  of  the  congregation. — Already  was  a  portion 
of  the  people  before  the  taberuacle,  calling  on  the  Lord  to  avert 
the  plague.  But  as  yet  no  one  had  dared  to  fulfil  Moses'  severe 
command ;  and  that  in  these  circumstances,  in  defiance  of  the 
heads  of  the  people,  and  of  the  people  who  were  weeping,  a  prince 
of  Israel  could  continue  the  iniquity  with  a  distinguished  Midian- 
itish  woman,  proved  the  frightful  extent  of  the  corruption,  and 
the  danger  for  the  whole  people. 

Ver.  8.  Into  the  tent. — Heb.,  "  the  Kubba,"  the  alcove,  the 
projection  in  the  hinder  room  of  the  tent. 

Ver.  11.  For  My  sake. — Lit.,  "he  was  jealous  with  My 
jealousy" — words  which  are  taken  from  the  relation  of  marriage 
in  which  the  Lord  stands  to  His  people. 

Ver.  13.  Ail  atonement. — "  The  covenant  of  peace  "  is  a  pecu- 
liarly near  relation  of  God  to  him,  as  Ps.  cvi.  31  it  is  expressed, 
"  It  was  counted  to  him  for  righteousness."  The  dignity  of  the 
high  priesthood  should,  by  way  of  eminence,  remain  in  his 
family.  The  reason  is,  because  he  "  has  made  an  atonement  for 
Israel."  He  has  covered  their  sin,  so  that  God  can  again  be  gra- 
cious to  His  people. 

Ver.  14.  Simeonites. — A  Simeonitish  head  of  a  family. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

As  Israel  was  on  the  point  of  entering  the  Promised  Land, 
it  was  necessary  for  the  proper  dividing  of  the  inheritance  that 
a  fresh  numbering  of  the  people  should  take  place.  The  old 
generation  had  now  entirely  died  out;  no  one  survived  of  it,  with 
the  exception  of  Joshua  and  Caleb,  besides  Moses,  who,  after  the 
completion  of  the  important  duties  still  incumbent  on  him,  was 
about  soon  to  take  his  leave  and  depart  hence. 

Ver.  3.  Near  Jericho. — Cf.  ch.  xxii.  1,  note.  He  spake  with 
them  ;  i.e.,  he  summoned  them. 

Ver.  7.  Were  numbered. — The  number  of  the  Eeubenites 
appears  2770  less  than  in  the  numbering  ch.  i.  21,  probably 
because  this  tribe  had  taken  especially  part  in  the  rebellion  of 
their  princes  Dathan  and  Abiram. 


NUMHEUS  XXVI.  12-55.  513 

Yor.  12.  Neinuel. — This  word  is  written  elsewhere  also  with  a 
variation,  Jemuel. 

Ver.  13.  Zerah. — This  person  appears  also  to  have  borne  the 
name  Zochar,  1  Chron.  iv.  2G  ;  Gen.  xlvi.  10;  Exod.  vi.  15. 
Similar  variations  are  to  be  found  likewise  in  some  names  which 
follow. 

Ver.  14.  22,200. — This  is  the  most  considerable  dinunution 
of  all,  as  this  tribe,  according  to  ch.  i.  23,  numbered  at  that  time 
59,300.  Probably  the  plague,  occasioned  by  a  prince  of  this 
tribe,  Zimri  (ch.  xxv.  14),  had  fallen  most  heavily  on  it. 

Gad. — About  5150  less  than  ch.  i.  29. 

Ver.  22.  Judah.—AhovX  1900  stronger  than  ch.  i.  27. 

Ver.  25.  Issachar. — About  9900  stronger  than  ch.  i.  29. 

Ver.  26.  Zehidon. — About  3100  stronger  than  ch.  i.  31. 

Ver.  34.  Manasseh. — In  this  tribe  the  greatest  increase  had 
taken  place — about  20,500. 

Ver.  35,  Ephrahn. — About  8000  less  than  ch.  i.  33. 

Ver.  38.  After  their  families. — In  this  statement  some  diffe- 
rences from  Gen.  xlvi.  21  occur,  perhaps  arising  from  the  fact 
that  some  families  of  the  tribe  had  died  out,  or  were  so  diminished 
in  number  that  they  were  incorporated  into  others. 

Ver.  39.  Tluphamites. — These  names  are  written  somewhat 
differently.  Gen.  xlvi.  21.  In  the  following,  also,  some  variation 
occurs,  originating  probably  in  very  ancient  errors  in  transcrip- 
tion in  this  register. 

Ver.  41.  Benjamin. — About  10,200  more  than  ch.  i.  37. 

Ver.  43.  64,400.— About  1700  more  than  ch.  i.  39. 

Ver.  46.  Was  Sarah. — Probably  here  mentioned  as  heiress, 
who  had  married  into  this  family,  and  brought  its  inheritance 
to  it. 

Ver.  47.  53,400.— About  11,900  more  than  ch.  i.  41. 

Ver.  50.  45,400.— About  8000  less  than  ch.  i.  43. 

Ver.  51.  The  numbered. — By  comparison  with  ch.  i.  46,  the 
number  of  the  whole  people  had  decreased  about  1820  men 
capable  of  bearing  arms.  It  had,  therefore,  on  the  whole,  re- 
mained nearly  the  same.  After  so  many  destructive  visitations, 
the  power  of  the  Divine  promise  to  Israel  had  been  proved  by  the 
continual  renewal  of  the  people. 

Ver.  !Sb.  Divided  by  lot. — After  the  size  of  the  inheritance  of 
tlie  particular  families  had  been  determined  according  to  their 

2  K 


514  NUMBERS  XXVT.  62  ;    XXVII.  3-12. 

number,  the  choice  of  it  Avas  still  to  be  settled  by  lot.  Here,  as 
ever  in  the  guidance  of  the  people  of  God,  God's  decree  and 
man's  judgment  were  to  work  together. 

Ver.  62.  No  inheritance. — The  Levites  are  not  numbered,  be- 
cause this  numbering  was  taken  with  reference  to  the  division  of 
the  land.  Their  numbering  also  is  not  complete,  as  the  register 
of  the  families  breaks  off  with  Aaron,  as  the  most  distinguished 
of  all.  His  mother  Jochebed  is  called  Levi's  daughter,  but  only 
in  a  wider  sense,  as  she  might  perhaps  be  his  great-grand- 
dauffhter. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

An  important  case  of  succession  to  inheritance  is  laid  before 
Moses,  and  a  more  comprehensive  law  on  the  subject  is  the  result. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  males  had  the  precedence  over  females  in 
the  inheriting  of  property  in  land.  Only  where  there  were  not 
sons,  did  the  daughters  inherit  in  their  stead,  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  collateral  branches. 

Ver.  3.  Died  in  his  own  sin. — He  had  not  seduced  others  to 
sin,  but  died  in  the  general  condemnation,  merely  on  account  of 
his  own  part  in  it. 

Ver.  11.  Of  his  family. — Therefore  only  the  agnates — rela- 
tions on  the  father's  side — not  the  cognates,  had  any  possession. 

Ver.  12.  Said  to  Moses. — The  time  is  now  arrived  when  the 
great  servant  of  the  Lord  shall  depart  this  life.  But,  in  order  that 
his  death  may  not  be  altogether  unexpected  either  to  himself  or  to 
the  people,  and  that  he  might  complete  the  whole  commission  laid 
on  him  by  God  in  respect  to  them,  God  solemnly  apprises  him  of 
his  approaching  death,  and  reminds  him  of  his  former  sin.  Care 
is  taken  for  that  most  necessary  matter,  the  appointment  of  his 
successor. 

Abanm. — This  range  of  mountains,  as  the  whole  position  of 
the  Israelites  so  far  shows,  is  to  be  looked  for  over  "  against 
Jericho,"  between  Hesbon  and  the  Dead  Sea.  That  town  itself 
lay  about  twelve  miles  eastward  of  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan,  on 
a  point  commanding  an  extensive  survey  of  tlie  surrounding 


NUMBERS  XXVII.  18-21;    XXVIII.  2-11.  515 

country  on  all  sides,  to  a  distance  of  from  25  to  30  miles.  Jeru- 
salem and  Bethlehem  can  be  seen  from  thence.  The  district  be- 
tween this  town  and  the  Jordan  has  never  been  investigated  in 
modern  times.  The  discovery  of  the  real  Mount  Nebo  in  the 
range  of  Abarim  is  still  to  be  made. 

Ver.  18.  Thine  hand  upon  him. — Cf.  Lev.  i.  4,  note. 

Ver.  20.  Thine  honour  upon  him. — The  ruling  power  which 
proceeds  from  God. 

Ver.  21.  Judgment  of  Unm. — Joshua's  office  is  at  the  same 
time  limited :  while  Aaron  was  Moses'  prophet  (Exod.  iv.  15), 
Joshua  is  referred  to  Aaron's  successor,  who  had  to  obtain  the 
oracles  of  God  for  him. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  two  next  chapters  give  a  detailed  and  particular  order  of 
sacrifices.  The  occasion  of  this  was  the  approaching  invasion  of 
Canaan.  It  was  necessary  to  give  rules  for  the  observance  of 
the  customs  of  daily  service  to  God ;  and  accordingly  these  regu- 
lations must  be  given  in  this  place.  At  the  same  time  the  Is- 
raelites, after  conquering  so  considerable  a  district  and  taking  so 
much  booty,  would  be  in  possession  of  a  sufficient  abundance  of 
cattle  to  carry  out  in  a  becoming  manner  all  which  was  com- 
manded them. 

Ver.  2.  My  bread. — All  the  sacrifices  are  called  the  "  bread  of 
God,"  especially  the  burnt-offering  which  ascended  to  heaven 
entire,  as  generally  all  flesh  which  was  sacrificed :  Lev.  iii.  11. 

Ver.  3.  Day  by  day. — Exod.  xxix.  38. 

Ver.  4.  At  even. — Lit.,  "between  the  two  eveninofs:"  see 
Exod.  xii.  6,  note. 

Ver.  6.  Ordained  in  Mount  Sinai;  i.e.,  As  ye  there  first 
offered  it. 

Ver.  11.  Beginning  of  your  months. — The  new  moons  do  not 
occur  as  especial  feast-days  in  the  list  of  festivals  (Lev.  xxiii.). 
They  were  not  distinguished  by  rest  from  labour,  but  by  parti- 
cular sacrifices,  as  wc  here  see.     Therefore  there  was  no  especial 


516  NUMBERS  XXIX.  1-14  ;  XXX.  13,  15. 

religious  meaning  in  these  days.  They  were  only,  as  important 
periods  according  to  which  the  year  was  divided,  not  to  pass 
without  express  consecration.  Cf.  on  the  new  moon,  1  Sam.  xx. 
5,  6;  2  Kings  iv.  23;  Col.  ii.  16. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Ver.  1.  Bloioingthe  trumpets. — See  Lev.  xxiii.  24.  The  sacri- 
fices of  the  feast  following,  but  especially  of  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles, show  that  this  was  the  most  solemn  month  of  the  whole 
year. 

Ver.  7.  IIoli/  convocation. — The  great  day  of  atonement : 
Lev.  xAa. 

Ver.  14.  Thirteen  bullocks. — On  each  of  the  eight  feast-days 
was  one  of  this  great  sin-offering  of  thirteen  bullocks  omitted. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

For  the  purpose  of  arousing  them  from  lethargy,  and  of 
keeping  them  in  remembrance  of  especial  duties  and  of  their 
relationship  towards  God,  the  Israelites  were  allowed  to  make 
also  especial  vows,  of  which  a  distinguished  one,  the  Nazarite  vow, 
has  been  mentioned,  ch.  vi.  The  general  obligation  to  keep 
every  vow  to  the  Lord  is  naturally  limited  by  the  yet  more 
general  principle,  "  that  obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice  (1  Sam. 
XV.  22),  as  only  that  which  is  well-pleasiiig  to  the  Lord  can 
acceptably  be  vowed  to  Him.  But  if  the  thing  vowed  is  not 
only  permitted,  but  the  person  who  vows  recognises  God's  will 
in  respect  to  himself  therein,  then  is  he  bound  to  keep  it,  with 
the  exception  of  the  case  of  dependence,  concerning  which  ex- 
press rules  are  here  given. 

Ver.  13.  To  ajiict. — Lit.,  "  to  humble  his  soul,"  as  Lev.  xvi.  29. 

Ver.  15.  Bear  her  iniquity. — He  will  be  regarded  as  having 
himself  broken  the  vow. 


NUMBERS  XXXI.  2-18.  517 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Of  the  two  nations  who  had  shown  themselves  hostile  towards 
the  Israelites — the  Moabites  and  Midianites — revenge  is  now 
taken  on  the  latter.  The  reason  why  the  first  were  spared, 
seems  to  be  because  the  Midianites  had  taken  the  lead  in  the 
crime  of  seducing  Israel  to  the  practice  of  the  licentious  idola- 
try, and  Balaam,  the  instigator  to  the  act,  was  found  among  them 
and  killed;  and,  moreover,  the  Moabites,  from  fear  of  the  enmity 
of  the  powerful  people,  were  incited  to  deceit,  but  the  Midianites 
had  no  such  excuse.  The  sin  in  Israel  had  been  stemmed  by 
the  act  of  Phinehas :  so  had  judgment  begun  at  the  house  of 
God ;  but  now  likewise  must  the  purified  people  of  God  take  ven- 
geance on  His  enemies.  The  conduct  of  the  people  in  the  war, 
the  division  of  the  spoil,  as  well  as  their  wonderful  preservation, 
are  related  with  particular  detail,  since  this  battle  was  to  serve  as 
a  kind  of  example  for  the  war  of  conquest  which  was  now  imme- 
diately before  them. 

Ver.  2.  Gathered  unto  thy  people. — This  was  the  last  act  of 
Moses  as  leader  of  the  people. 

Ver.  6.  Phinehas. — In  honour  of  Phinehas,  as  the  first  who 
had  stood  up  and  stayed  Israel's  apostasy  and  the  plague,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  sanctify  the  war  by  the  guidance  of  a  priest. 

Holy  instruments. — What  these  were,  is  not  mentioned ;  but 
fi'om  ch.  xiv.  14,  1  Sam.  iv.,  it  is  not  improbable  that  it  was  the 
ark  of  the  covenant  with  the  thinijs  belonfyinoj  to  it — the  cover- 
ing  with  the  cherubim,  and  the  tables  of  the  law.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  they  could  be  the  "  Light  and  Right,"  Urim  and 
Thummim,  because  Eleasar  the  high  priest,  and  not  Phinehas, 
had  these. 

Trumpets. — "  Ye  shall  be  remembered  before  the  Lord  your 
God,  and  ye  shall  be  saved  from  your  enemies  : "  ch.  x.  9,  note. 

Ver.  18.  Keep  alive  for  yourselves. — This  command  shows 
that  it  was  a  holy  revenge  which  the  Israelites  took — a  judg- 
ment which  they  as  the  instruments  of  the  Lord  fulfilled.  The 
putting  to  death  all  the  male  children  has  for  its  object  the  ex- 
termination III'  the  whole  people  who  were  not  continued  in  the 
foinales. 


518  NUMBERS  XXXI.  24-50  ;    XXXII. 

Ver.  24.  Come  into  the  ccunp. — All  this  is  here  so  circum- 
stantially commanded,  because  these  prescri])ed  rules  were  ever 
afterwards  to  be  observed  in  the  wars  of  extermination  which 
followed. 

Ver.  30.  Tabernacle  of  the  Lord. — The  share  of  the  priests 
stands  in  about  the  same  proportion  to  that  of  the  Levites,  as 
did  the  tithes  of  the  one  to  those  of  the  other. 

Ver.  33. — It  is  evident  from  this  that  the  Midianites  were  a 
rich  Arabian  nomad  people. 

Ver.  49.  Not  one  man  of  ws. — This  is  in  some  measure  to  be 
explained  by  the  fact,  that  the  Midianites  were  not  a  warlike 
people,  and  had  been  suddenly  attacked  by  the  Israelites  :  still 
it  was  certainly  a  wonderful  preserv^ation  of  the  people,  which 
never  failed  them  when  they  entirely  did  the  will  of  God. 

Ver.  50.  For  our  souls  before  the  Lord. — As  the  Lord  had 
graciously  recognised  the  obedience  of  His  people,  and  had  re- 
warded it  by  the  preservation  of  them  all  in  the  war,  the  consi- 
deration of  this  mercy  awakens  in  the  leaders  of  the  people  a 
feeling  of  holy  fear  and  thankfulness.  Under  the  feeling  that  the 
souls  thus  preserved  were  not  worthy  of  this  grace,  they  offer 
a  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  "  to  cover  them  " — to  atone  for  their  sins. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

In  all  the  promises  made  to  the  people,  the  Promised  Land  pro- 
perly is  always  Canaan,  this  side  Jordan.  The  Euphrates  and 
the  Nile  also  are  ofiten  given  as  the  boundaries  of  the  land  (Gen. 
XV.  18)  ;  but  this  is  not  to  be  understood  of  the  dwelling  of  the 
people,  but  of  the  countries  tributary  and  subject  to  them.  But 
now  Israel  did  not  find,  as  had  originally  been  the  case,  the 
Moabites  and  the  Ammonites  in  possession  of  the  land  beyond 
Jordan,  but  two  powerful  victorious  kings  of  the  Amorites, 
whose  people  were  especially  marked  out  for  the  judgment  of 
the  Lord  :  Gen.  xv.  16.  The  war  of  extermination  had  therefore 
begun  with  this  people,  by  which  means  the  boundaries  of  the 
land  of  Canaan  had  of  themselves  been  extended.  It  is  remark- 
able in  this  transaction,  how  the  first  decision  of  Moses  rests  on  a 


NUMBERS  XXXII.  3-41.  519 

misunderstandincT,  and  therefore  is  wrong,  but  immediately  is 
withdi'awn  by  him  and  corrected. 

Ver.  3.  Beo7i. — These  names  are  partially  to  be  recognised  at 
the  present  day  in  small  places,  hills  and  ruins.  Ataroth  is  to 
be  found  in  Mount  Attarus,  north  of  Modscheb,  the  ancient 
Arnon.  An  hour's  journey  from  that  river,  to  the  north-east, 
Burckhardt  saw  the  ruins  of  Dibon.  To  the  north  of  this  the 
same  traveller  found  ruins,  the  name  of  which  was  given  to  him 
as  Szyr,  in  which,  perhaps,  Jazer  is  to  be  recognised.  Nimrah 
(elsewhere  Beth-nimrah  :  Joshua  xiii.  27 ;  Isa.  xv.  6,  "  the 
place  of  clean  water")  lay  in  the  valley  of  Jordan,  north  of 
the  part  in  which  the  people  now  were — now  called  Nemrin,  in 
ruins.  For  Heshbon,  now  Hesban,  see  ch.  xxi.  2G,  note.  Elealeh 
is  now  called  El-Al,  near  to  Heshbon,  on  the  summit  of  a  hill 
and  commanding  the  plain.  From  thence  may  be  seen  the  whole 
land  named  Belka,  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Shebam  or  Sibma 
was  celebrated  for  its  vineyards ;  now  unknown.  Nebo  appears 
to  be  connected  with  the  mountain  of  the  same  name,  which 
most  probably  lay  between  Heshbon  and  the  Jordan.  Beon  is 
also  called  Beal-Meon ;  and  is  at  this  day  in  ruins,  which  are 
called  Myun. 

Ver.  IG.  Came  near  to  him. — From  these  words  it  may  al- 
most be  supposed  that  they  had  not  really  at  first  the  intention 
which  they  here  express,  but  only  on  second  thoughts  came  to  a 
better  mind. 

Ver.  19.  Is  fallen  to  us. — Here  they  use  the  word  "  yonder 
side,"  from  their  present  position. 

Ver.  30.  Land  of  Canaan. — i.e.,  Well,  they  shall  in  that  case 
receive  no  peculiar  inheritance,  but  shall  be  incorporated  into 
the  poorer  tribes  after  they  have  been  driven  out  of  their  pre- 
sent possessions. 

Ver.  33.  Manasseh. — The  participation  of  this  half-tribe  in 
the  possession  is  established  by  ver.  39. 

Ver.  38.  TheT/  huilded. — liebuilt  after  the  conquest.  All  the 
names  were  not  changed. 

Ver.  41.  Havoth-Jair. — i.e.,  "Villages  of  Jair:"  cf.  Deut. 
iii.  14 ; — a  name  which  for  the  sake  of  a  descendant  of  Jair,  who 
had  the  same  name,  was  afterwards  renewed. 


520  NUMBERS  XXXIII.  1-36. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

As  the  people  has  now  finished  its  wanderings  through  the 
wilderness,  Moses  mentions  the  express  command  of  the  Lord  to 
write  down  the  stations  of  its  encampments.  Among  these 
many  are  related  which  occur  in  the  history ;  but  it  is  especially 
remarkable  that  the  whole  period  of  the  thirty-eight  years'  wan- 
dering, with  all  the  stations,  is  entirely  omitted.  In  the  sacred 
books  only  the  steps  in  the  stage  of  development  and  the  progress 
of  the  kingdom  of  God  are  recorded ;  the  time  during  which  the 
generation  assigned  to  the  curse  of  God  was  to  die  out,  is  there- 
fore necessarily  wanting.  This  history  is  here,  as  it  were,  blotted 
out.  This  record,  therefore,  proceeds  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  in  a  direct  manner  as  if  God's  original  plan  had  been  carried 
into  effect,  teaching  us  that  man's  sin  cannot  in  the  end  frustrate 
the  purpose  of  God. 

Ver.  1.  Jowmeys. — Lit.,  "breakings  up" — the  places  from 
which  they  journeyed.  The  march  is  divided,  not  according  to 
the  encampments,  the  stations,  but  according  to  the  decampments. 

Ver.  16.  Kihroth-Hattaavali. — Here  follows  the  long  stay  at 
Sinai,  from  whence  they  broke  up,  Num.  x.  11.  From  thence 
two  ways  into  Canaan  were  open  to  them ;  one  on  the  west 
coast  of  the  ^lanitic  Gulf,  and  the  other  through  the  mountain 
district  and  the  wilderness  Et-Tih.  But  the  first  is  a  very  narrow 
coast  path,  close  by  precipitous,  jagged  rocks,  and  therefore  alto- 
gether unsuited  to  the  passage  of  a  vast  host ;  the  other  way 
leads  at  the  beginning  through  a  mountainous  district,  but  soon 
arrives  at  the  wide  inhospitable  desert.  The  latter,  without 
doubt,  was  the  one  chosen ;  and  the  first  station  of  the  Israelites, 
Avhich  is  called,  ch.  xi.  3,  Taberah  (burning),  and  ch.  xi.  34, 
Kibroth-Hattaavah  (graves  of  lust),  was  not  a  town,  but  only  an 
uninhabitated  part  of  the  mountain-desert,  which  received  its 
names  from  the  events  occunnng  there. 

Ver.  36.  Kadesh. — These  stations  as  far  as  Kadesh  are  as 
good  as  unknown.  It  may  be  supposed,  with  some  probability, 
that  the  people  did  not  march  through  the  wilderness  by  a 
straight  route,  but  diverged  on  both  sides  for  tlie  purpose  of  pro- 
curing sustenance  for  their  herds.     The  last  stations  have  with 


NUMBERS  XXXIII.  39-56.  521 

the  greatest  likelihood  been  looked  for  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mount  Seir,  therefore  in  Arabah.  From  thence  they  pass  on  to 
Ezion-geber,  which  lay  on  the  Red  Sea  ;  and  from  thence  again 
back  northward  toward  Kadesh,  on  the  south  borders  of  Canaan. 
There  occurred  the  event  related  ch.  xiv.  It  has  been  supposed 
that,  perha|)s,  while  waiting  for  the  spies,  the  people  marched 
round  Mount  Seir,  until  they  met  with  them  at  Kadesh.  The 
supposition  that  the  thirty-eight  years'  wandering  in  the  wilder- 
ness is  described  by  the  stations  from  Bnejaekan  to  Ezion-geber 
lacks  all  probability,  and  has  only  arisen  from  the  wish  to  unite 
Dent.  X.  6  with  the  account  before  us.  The  reason  why  on  the 
long  road^from  Ezion-geber  to  Kadesh  no  station  is  named,  may 
perhaps  be  because  the  people  visited  their  former  places  of  en- 
campment, whose  names  are  therefore  not  repeated. 

Ver.  39.  Aaron.— Ch.  xx.  23. 

Ver.  41.  Zalmonah. — An  Edomite  town  on  the  east  side  of 
Mount  Seir,  lying  north-east  from  the  present  Akaba ;  perhaps 
tlie  modern  ^laan  on  the  road  from  Damascus  to  Mecca. 

Ver.|42.  Fimon. — This  is  also  an  Edomite  place.  In  the 
fourth  century  after  Clirist  a  village  in  the  wilderness,  near  the 
Dead^Sea  ;   perhaps  Kalaat  Phenan. 

Ver.  49.  Plains  of  Moah. — All  these  places  show  that  the 
Israelites  went  round  Edom  first  in  an  easterly,  then  in  a 
northerly  direction,  until  they  reached  the  level  land  of  the 
Aallcy  of  Jordan,  opposite  Jericho. — Although  it  is  quite  true 
that  in  the  whole  history  of  the  people  of  God  there  is  a  type 
both^of  the  ffuidinjr  of  the  Christian  Church  and  of  the  individual 
Christian/yet  it  is  altogether  arbitrary,  and  unwarranted  entirely 
by  Scripture,  to  interpret  the  particular  stations  in  the  wilderness, 
or  their  names,  by  the  signification  attached  to  them,  as  though 
they  represented  a  list  of  the  particular  steps  of  the  Christian  life. 

Ver.  54.   Tribes  of  your  fathers. — Cf.  ch.  xxvi.  52. 

Ver.  50.  To  do  %mto  them. — That  I  should  destroy  and  drive 
you  out.  The  more  there  is  left  in  tlie  new  life  of  the  Christian 
of  old  sins,  so  much  the  greater  is  the  danger  of  the  contest 
which  is  certain  to  ensue,  and  at  last  the  risk  of  entire  apostasy. 


522  NUMBERS  XXXIV.  4-15  ;   XXXV. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Ver.  4.  Kadesli-harnea. — The  boundary,  therefore,  was  to  go 
from  the  south  point  of  the  Dead  Sea  southward  to  Ghor,  along 
the  range  of  Mount  Seir,  through  the  heights  of  Akrabbim  to 
Kadesh.  It  comprises  accordingly  all  the  fastnesses  which 
hitherto  had  barred  the  entrance  of  the  Israelites. 

Ver.  5.  At  the  sea. — From  Kadesh  the  boundary  turns  to  the 
east,  with  a  slight  inclination  northward ;  here  it  intersects  the 
wilderness  in  which  Adar  and  Azraon  must  have  been  situated, 
the  localities  of  which  cannot  be  determined.  The  river  of 
Egypt  (which  must  not  be  confounded  with  "  the  Great  River," 
Gen.  XV.  18)  is  most  probably  the  Wady-el-Arish,  which  empties 
itself  near  the  ancient  Rhinocura,  the  present  Kelat-el-Arish. 

Ver.  6.  The  Great  Sea. — The  Mediterranean. 

Ver.  7.  Mount  Hoi'. — An  unknown  mountain  in  the  Lebanon 
range.  "  Hor  "  is  another  form  for  the  Hebrew  "  Har,"  moun- 
tain ;  Greek,  "  Oros ;"  and  therefore  common  to  many  mountain 
peaks.     A  particularly  well-known  lofty  point  was  Hermon. 

Ver.  8.  Hamath. — The  well-known  Syrian  town  on  the  Orontes 
— afterwards  Emesa,  now  Hems. 

Ver.  11.  East  side  of  Ain. — All  these  places  are  unknown, 
except  Riblah,  which  to  this  day  is  called  Ribleh,  a  place  on  the 
Orontes  south  of  Hems. 

Chinnereth. — In  the  N.T.,  Gennesareth,  or  the  Sea  of  Tiberias. 

Ver.  15.  Near  Jericho ;  i.e.,  opposite  Jericho. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

The  tribe  of  Levi,  which  had  not  received  any  inheritance 
among  the  others,  but  which  was  to  be  dispersed  among  them 
(Gen.  xhx.  6),  obtains  here  in  each  tribe  six  towns,  with  pasture 
round  them  for  their  cattle,  in  order  in  this  way  to  penetrate  and 
sanctify  the  whole  people  with  their  influence. 


NUMBERS  XXXV.  2-12.  523 

Ver.  2.  Suburbs. — By  this  we  are  to  understand  an  unoc- 
cupied space  around  the  towns. 

Ver.  8.  Which  he  inheriteth. — They  were  not  therefore  divided 
among  the  tribes  in  an  equal  measure,  but  there  were  a  greater 
number  in  the  richer  and  larger  ones.  The  total  sum  of  them, 
however,  pointed  to  the  number  of  the  tribes,  which  was  twelve. 

Ver.  11.  Cities  of  7'efuge. — Among  all  ancient  nations,  even 
to  the  Christian  era,  there  were  cities  of  refuge — asylums  which 
afforded  protection  to  those  who  had  reason  to  fear  punishment 
or  revenge  for  any  deed  they  had  committed.  Among  the 
heathen  the  asylum  was,  for  the  most  part,  afforded  uncondition- 
ally ;  while  by  the  Divine  law  no  wilful  murderer  was  allowed  to 
enjoy  it  (cf.  Exod.  xxi.  14).  But  six  cities  of  the  Levites  were 
appointed  "  cities  of  refuge  "  for  those  who  had  unintentionally 
inflicted  a  blow  causing  death.  They  were  placed  as  sanctuaries 
in  the  midst  of  the  people,  as  elsewhere  the  altar  was  such,  which 
served  for  a  place  of  refuge  (1  Kings  ii.  29).  The  appointment 
of  these  cities  as  about  to  take  place  had  already  been  hinted  at 
(Exod.  xii.  13).  It  is  there  remarked,  and  more  particularly 
explained,  how  this  institution  presupposes  the  existence  of  the 
principle  of  vengeance  for  blood.  We  must,  in  reference  to  this 
jn'inciple — Avhich  was  not  introduced  by  the  law,  but  allowed 
to  stand — always  bear  in  mind,  that  while  the  modern  notion  of 
judicial  punishment  is,  that  it  is  better  to  let  a  murderer  go  un- 
])unished  than  to  punish  an  innocent  person,  with  the  ancient 
law,  on  tlie  contrary,  the  escape  of  a  murderer  appeared  so 
horrible,  that  nothing  was  esteemed  too  great  a  stretch  to  secure 
his  punishment.  Even  the  unintentional  man-slayer  had  com- 
mitted a  fearful  deed,  though  he  was  personally  innocent.  He 
^\■as  not,  indeed,  to  be  put  to  death,  but  he  was  regarded  as 
civilly  dead  until  the  death  of  the  high  priest.  This  death  was  a 
kind  of  termination  of  a  period.  With  the  death  of  the  supreme 
judge,  was  the  remembrance  of  the  deed  committed  during  his 
term  of  office  to  be  wiped  away. 

Ver.  12.  Avenger. — Lit.,  "the  redeemer  of  a  pledge  ;"  some- 
times with  the  addition,  "  redeemer  of  the  pledge  of  blood." 
The  kinsman  who  redeemed  a  possession  was  called  by  the  same 
name,  Lev.  xxv.  25.  As  the  one  paid  mone}-  for  the  possession, 
so  did  the  other  pay  death-blow  for  death-blow,  and  made  atone- 
ment by  retaliation  for  the  crime. 


524  NUMBERS  XXXV.  13-34  ;    XXXVI.  4. 

Ver.  15.  Killeth;  i.  e.  (as  also  in  the  following  verse),  a 
murderer.  Even  an  unpremeditated  man-slaughter  was  punished 
altogether  as  murder  :  cf.  Exod.  xxi.  12,  note. 

Ver.  33.  That  shed  it. — It  is  regarded  by  the  present  Arabs  a 
disgraceful  act  for  the  avenger  of  blood  to  take  money  from  the 
relations.  Even  with  them  the  notion  is  still  prevalent  that  the 
impunity  of  a  murderer  is  something  horrible.  Much  more  would 
this  feeling  exist  among  the  Israelites,  with  whom  the  reason  for 
it  was  expressly  derived  from  their  view  of  the  violation  of  the 
Divine  image  :  Gen.  ix.  6. 

Ver.  34.  The  Lord  dwelt. — Lastly,  all  is  traced  up  to  the 
dwelling  of  the  Lord  among  His  people,  who  could  not  dwell  in 
a  dishonoured  and  defiled  land.  Thus  do  all  these  laws  in  the 
end  refer  to  their  Author. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

It  was  a  great  point  with  the  people  of  Israel,  that  their  pos- 
session should  always  appear  as  one  lent  to  them  by  God.  But 
the  division  of  the  tribes  was  essentially  connected  with  this 
view.  This  division  would  be  done  away  with,  if  the  inheritance 
was  allowed  to  pass  into  other  tribes  by  marriage  ;  and  this  so 
much  the  more,  as  the  small  states  which  formed  the  tribes  rested 
altogether  on  the  family  constitution.  The  geographical  bound- 
aries, therefore,  could  not  be  regulated  otherwise  than  by  the 
possessions  of  the  families  constituting  the  tribe. 

Ver.  4.  Jubilee ;  i.  e.,  although  the  year  of  jubilee  comes,  the 
possessions  do  not,  however,  fall  to  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  but  to 
the  heirs  of  the  daughters  of  Zelophehad. 


THE  FIFTH  BOOK  OF  MOSES, 

CALLED  DEUTERONOMY  (THE  REPETITION  OF  THE 

LAW). 


CHAPTER  I. 

With  the  preceding  book  is  concluded  the  whole  of  the  giving 
of  the  law,  together  with  those  additions  to  it  which  were  made 
in  the  country  of  Moab.  Now  had  the  time  arrived  for  the 
people  to  pass  over  into  the  Promised  Land,  and  for  Moses  to 
take  leave  of  them.  As  Christ,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant, 
must  leave  His  disciples  even  before  they  had  received  the 
promised  Comforter,  and  were  endued  with  power  from  on  liigli 
for  their  new  life,  in  like  manner  must  the  mediator  of  the  old 
covenant  take  leave  of  his  people  without  seeing  them  in  pos- 
session of  the  Promised  Land,  or  witnessing  the  fulfilment  of 
God's  word,  and  without  being  himself  the  accomplisher  of  it. 
But  as  Christ,  before  He  went  to  His  death,  once  more  put  His 
disciples  in  mind  of  what  He  had  said  to  them  in  His  farewell 
discourses,  and  confirmed  them  by  the  repetition  of  exhortations 
and  warnings,  in  like  manner  did  Moses  clearly  and  emphati- 
cally lay  before  the  people  once  more  the  whole  counsel  of  God 
in  the  election  of  His  people, — how  He  had  saved  them  by 
miracles  out  of  Egypt,  led  them  through  the  wilderness,  made 
them  to  trium})h  over  the  Canaanites,  as  it  was  contained  in  the 
law  itself.  The  "  repetition  of  the  law,"  therefore,  includes  the 
memorial  of  these  events,  as  well  as  here  and  there  interweaves 
some   new  rules  of  conduct.     Two   somewhat  long  discourses 


526  DEUTERONOMY  I.  2-6. 

of  Moses  open  the  whole  book,  which  are  written  down  by 
himself,  as  his  last  legacy  of  wisdom  and  love.  The  first  of 
these  (ch.  i.— iv.)  is  altogether  of  a  general  character  ;  it  recalls 
to  mind  the  acts  of  the  history  of  the  covenant,  adding  an 
earnest  exhortation  to  obedience.  God's  great  promise  of  grace 
stands  first  (ver.  6-8)  :  then  he  begins  the  history  with  the 
appointment  of  the  heads  of  the  tribes  to  the  office  of  judges,  by 
which  means  the  whole  people  was  divided  into  separate  depart- 
ments (ver.  9-18)  :  hereupon  he  narrates,  among  all  the  deeds  of 
the  sinful  people,  that  momentous  one,  the  sending  out  of  the  spies, 
and  the  disobedience  following  on  it,  which  involved  as  its  conse- 
quences their  stay  at  Kadesh,  and  the  thirty-eight  years'  wander- 
ing in  the  wilderness. 

Ver.  2.  Kadesh- barnea. — These  names  are  intended  to  give  a 
general  view  of  the  country  through  which  the  Israelites  had 
lately  passed.  The  place  from  which  Moses  now  speaks  is  "  the 
field,"  the  Arabah ;  for  thus  is  called  all  that  deep,  desolate 
valley  which  stretches  from  Lebanon  to  the  Red  Sea,  in  which 
the  Jordan  flows  into  the  Dead  Sea  through  the  lakes  Merom 
and  Kinnereth,  being  in  its  middle  part  deeper  than  the  surface 
of  the  sea.  This  Arabah  lies  "  over  against  the  Reedy  Sea," 
and  runs  towards  the  south  as  far  as  the  ^lanitic  Gulf  of  the 
Red  Sea.  "  Paran"  is  the  more  highly  situated  wilderness,  Et- 
Tih ;  Tophel,  the  modern  Tofyle,  a  well-watered,  fruitful  place 
on  the  south  of  the  Dead  Sea,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
range  of  the  mountains  of  Seir.  "  Laban  "  and  "  Hazeroth" 
are  mentioned,  Num.  xxxiii.  17  and  20,  as  stations  of  Israel  on 
the  way  fi'om  Sinai  to  Kadesh.  "  Di-Sahab"  is  perhaps  the 
present  Dhahab,  a  harbour  on  the  ^lanitic  Gulf. — The  last 
statement,  "eleven  days'  journey,"  etc.,  is  intended  to  signify 
the  distance  of  Arabah  from  Horeb.  In  Kadesh  (cf.  Num. 
xiii.  14)  they  had  arrived  at  the  soiith  borders  of  Canaan ;  and 
it  was  their  own  fault  that  they  did  not  enter,  and  were  only 
now  on  the  point  of  effecting  an  invasion  fi'om  another  side  of 
the  same  Arabah. 

Ver.  5.  Declare. — The  Hebrew  word  means,  properly,  to  en- 
grave, to  hew  in  stone ;  which  is  thus  used  of  the  deeper  im- 
pressing and  imprinting  on  the  heart  by  means  of  exhortation 
and  explanation. 

Ver.  6.  This  mount. — These  words  refer  to  Num.  x.  11. 


DEUTERONOMY  I.  7-46.  527 

Ver.  7.  Amorites. — The  Amorites,  as  the  most  warHke  and 
powerful  people,  stand  here  for  all  the  Canaanites,  as  Gen.  xv. 
10,  etc. 

Euphrates. — Cf.  in  respect  to  these  boundaries,  Gen.  xv.  18, 
note. 

Ver.  9.  /  spake  unto  you. — It  seems  that  in  the  following 
account  two  histories  are  comprised  in  one  :  the  appointment 
of  the  judges  at  the  advice  of  Jethro  (Exod.  xviii.),  and  the  in- 
stalling of  the  seventy  elders  by  the  communication  of  the 
Spirit  to  them  (Num.  xi.  16).  The  first  institution,  which  was 
of  man's  origin,  received  its  consecration  by  the  latter  act.  The 
division  of  the  whole  people  into  corporations,  under  heads  also 
inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  God  as  Moses,  made  the  whole  unformed 
mass  really  into  one  people. 

Ver.  19.  Kadesh-barnea. — Num.  xiii.  27,  ch.  xxxiii.  36. 

Ver.  23.  1  took. — According  to  Num.  xiii.  3,  the  Lord  Him- 
self gave  the  command,  which  may  be  easily  explained  as  the 
other  view  of  the  same  transaction. 

Ver.  28.  Whither. — Not  an  inquiry,  but  a  murmur  of  com- 
plaint. 

Ver.  36.  Wholly  follouml.—Ui.,  "that  he  hath  fulfilled  after 
the  Lord ;"  i.e.,  has  entirely  followed  Him,  as  it  is  said  in  He- 
brew, "  They  were  speedy  after  Him,"  for  "  they  followed  Him 
speedily." 

Ver.  37.  For  your  sakes. — Here  again  we  see,  as  it  were,  the 
other  side  of  the  event  narrated  Num.  xx.  10,  etc.  There  the 
unbelief  of  Moses  and  Aaron  bears  the  blame ;  yet  this  unbelief 
was  called  forth  by  the  invincible  perverseness  of  the  people. 
Moses,  therefore,  was  punished  because  he  had  not  kept  himself 
entirely  fi'ee  from  the  infection  of  the  sin  of  the  people,  but  the 
people  had  reason  to  reckon  this  sin  on  the  part  of  Moses  as  oc- 
casioned by  their  fault. 

Ver.  39.  Shall  possess  it. — Cf.  Num.  xiv.  3,  31. 

Ver.  44.  Hormah. — Num.  xiv.  39. 

Ver.  46.  Ye  abode  there ;  i.e.,  They  marched  for  38  years  from 
that  point  round  about,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kadesh  ;  and 
therefore,  in  the  description  of  the  encampments,  Num.  xxxiii.  36, 
a  resting-point  was  made  there,  and  the  objectless  wandering 
through  the  wilderness  is  passed  over.  , 


528  DEUTERONOMY  II.  1-23. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Ver.  1 .  Many  days. — In  Arabah  to  the  west  of  it,  from  Kadesh 
towards  the  Red  Sea. 

Ver.  4.  Afraid  of  you. — Cf.  on  the  whole  passage,  Num.  xxi., 
introd. 

Ver.  5.  For  a  2^osse.ssion. — Gen.  xxxvii.  8,  4B. 

Ver.  6.  May  drink. — Since  Israel  provided  continually,  both 
for  themselves  and  their  herds,  food  over  and  above  the  manna. 

Ver.  8.  Ezion-geher. — A  harbour  on  the  ^lanitic  branch  of 
the  Arabian  Gulf,  from  whence  Solomon's  ships  sailed  to  Ophir, 
1  Kings  ix.  26,  and  where  the  merchant-vessels  of  Jehosaphat 
were  wrecked,  1  Kings  xxii.  48. 

Ver.  9.  Ar. — The  principal  town  of  the  Moabites,  which  lies 
near  to  Anion  :  Num.  xxi.  15. 

Ver.  12.  Lord  gave  unto  them. — The  words  from  ver.  10  ap- 
pear most  probably  not  to  belong  to  the  speech  of  Moses,  but  are 
explanatory  remarks  of  the  person  who,  after  his  death,  wrote 
the  conclusion  of  the  book,  and  arranged  the  whole  narrative. 
There  are  many  similar  instances  in  this  book  of  the  insertion  of 
remarks  of  the  same  kind. — The  aboriginal  people  who,  before 
the  Canaanites,  dwelt  in  Palestine  on  both  sides  of  the  Jordan, 
are  described  as  of  great  bodily  strength  and  stature.  Their 
names  also  appear  to  intimate  this  ;  as,  e.g.,  "Emim  "  means  "the 
terrible."  Over  these  rude  hordes  the  more  civilized  nations 
a;ot  the  upper  hand  :  in  the  east,  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites ; 
in  the  south-west,  the  Philistines ;  in  the  other  parts,  the  Canaan- 
itish  tribes ;  and  the  aborigines  only  survived  in  some  places  in  a 
few  remnants  and  families.  The  Horites  were  the  inhabitants 
of  the  many  caves  of  Mount  Seir:  see  Gen.  xxxvi.  5,  note. 

Ver.  20.  Giants. — Or,  "of  the  Rephaites" — a  name  of  a  giant- 
like people,  as  the  Emims  and  the  Anakim :  cf.  Gen.  xiv.  5, 
note. 

Ver.  21.  Destroyed  them;  i.e.,  through  their  means.  It  ap- 
pears that  in  these  words  is  expressed  a  nearer  relation  of  the 
Lord  (Jehovah)  to  this  people,  the  descendants  of  Lot,  whom 
God  blessed  for  Abraham's  sake. 

Ver.  23.   Caphtorims. — Cf.  Gen.  x.  14,  note. 


DEUTERONOMY  II.  80  ;    III.  9-27.  529 

In  their  stead. — The  same  is  applicable  to  the  words  in 
brackets,  from  ver.  20,  as  of  vers.  10-12. 

Ver.  30.  Appeareth  this  day. — There  is  the  same  condition  in 
the  above  proposal  as  in  that  made  to  Pharaoh,  Exod.  iii.  18,  19. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Ver  9.  Shenir. — Cf.  ch.  ii.  12,  note. 

Ver.  11.  Cubit  of  a  man. — Upon  this  also,  ch.  ii.  12,  note, 
may  be  referred  to.  While  the  old  giant  people  were  subdued, 
and  reduced  to  a  small,  scattered  remnant,  a  giant  race  had  been 
maintained  in  the  kingly  dignity.  The  excessive  size  of  the  bed 
may  be  explained  by  the  attempt  to  make  a  display  of  great 
bodily  height,  without  being  obliged  to  suppose  that  he  was 
really  so  huge.  Nine  cubits  are  thirteen  feet  and  a  half.  At 
Kabbah  the  bedstead  might  have  been  left  to  relatives  as  a  curi- 
osity, and  preserved  by  them. 

Ver.  14.  Unto  this  day. — Cf.  ii.  12,  note;  and  for  the  thing 
itself.  Num.  xxxii.  41,  note. 

Ver.  16.  And  the  border. —  Heb. :  "Even  to  the  brook  Arnon, 
the  middle  of  the  brook  and  the  border;"  i.e.^  the  middle  of  the 
brook  and  its  end,  its  mouth  in  the  Dead  Sea,  shall  be  its  border. 

Ver.  17.  Eastward. — The  "plain"  is  in  the  Hebrew  "the 
Arabah ; "  the  deep  valley  of  the  Jordan,  with  the  two  lakes  Cin- 
nereth  and  the  Dead  Sea. 

Ver.  20.  /  have  given  you, — Their  own  offer,  which  Moses 
accepted  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  and  confirmed,  is  here  compre- 
hensively represented  as  the  command  of  the  Lord  :  cf.  Num. 
xxxiv.  "  Beyond  Jordan  "  stands  here  in  its  proper  local  signi- 
fication, not  as  a  name:  cf.  Num.  xxxii.  19,  note. 

Ver.  27.  Top  of  Pisgah. — This  command  was  complied  with  : 
ch.  xxxiv.  1. 


2  L 


530  DEUTERONOMY  IV.  6-42. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

Ver.  6.  Surely. — Such  an  impression  is  made,  for  example,  on 
the  Arabian  queen,  1  Kings  x.  6. 

Ver.  7.  Call  upon  Him  for. — All  the  religions  of  the  heathen 
have  proceeded  from  the  necessity  felt  of  a  communion  of  man 
with  God  ;  and  in  all  of  them  do  we  find  traces  that  this  neces- 
sity has  not  been  satisfied.  Thus,  for  example,  there  runs 
through  the  old  Greek  religion,  as  we  find  it  represented  in 
Homer,  a  tradition  of  a  near  and  intimate  intercourse  of  the 
gods  with  men  ;  but  already  in  the  time  which  the  poems  repre- 
sent, this  communion  is  on  the  wane.  The  highest  God  nowhere 
himself  visibly  appears,  and  the  other  gods  rarely ;  so  that  it  is 
evident  the  poet  in  his  own  time  knew  of  no  such  communion. 
But  it  is  otherwise  in  the  covenant-religion,  in  which  God's  reve- 
lations do  not  cease  until,  midway  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
they  reach  their  crowning-point  in  Christ. 

Ver.  11.  Midst. — Lit.,  "  unto  the  heart  of  heaven." 

Ver.  13.  Midst  of  the  fire.— Ql  Exod.  xxiv.  9. 

Ver.  20.  Iron  furnace ;  i.  e.,  the  glowing,  melting  furnace  as 
an  image  of  their  hot  tribulation. 

Ver.  21.  Was  angry. — Cf.  cli.  i.  37,  note. 

Ver.  24.  Jealous  God ;  i.  e.,  One  who  will  not  suffer  any  rival. 
An  expression  taken  from  the  marriage  relation  of  the  Lord  to 
His  people  :  cf  Exod.  xx.  5. 

Ver.  28.  Shall  serve. — The  sin  itself  will  be  the  greatest  punish- 
ment of  the  sin  :  cf.  Eom.  i.  24,  note. 

Ver.  31.  Sware  unto  them. — Cf.  the  similar  expression.  Lev. 
xxvi.  40. 

Ver.  33.  And  live. — Cf  Gen.  xvi.  13,  note. 

Ver.  36.  Instj'uct  thee  ;  i.  e.,  taught, — educated  partly  by  the 
contents,  partly  by  the  mode  and  way  of  His  revelation. 

Ver.  41.  Then  Moses. — Agreeably  to  historical  fidelity  and 
accuracy,  there  follows  the  separation  of  the  cities  of  refuge  in 
the  east  of  Jordan,  after  the  introductory  discourse  of  Closes  just 
given,  when  he  ceases,  in  order  next  with  yet  more  solemnity 
and  fulness  to  repeat  the  main  purport  of  the  law. 

Ver.  42.  Might  live. — Cf.  Num.  xxxv.  14. 


DEUTERONOMY  IV.  43-49  ;    V.  15.  531 

Ver.  43.  Manassites. — Tliese  three  cities  are  also  elsewhere 
mentioned.  We  find  Bezer  as  a  Levite  city  in  the  tribe  of 
Reuben,  Joshua  xxi.  36.  Its  situation  cannot  be  further  deter- 
mined. Ramoth  is  mentioned  also  as  a  Levite  city  in  the  tribe 
of  Gad,  Joshua  xxi.  38.  There  the  kings  of  Israel  often  engaged 
in  war  with  the  Syrians :  1  Kings  xxii.  1  ;  2  Kings  viii.  28.  It 
lay  fifteen  Roman  miles  to  the  north-west  of  the  later  city  Phila- 
delphia on  the  Jabbok.  Golan  was  situated  in  Baslian,  and 
afterwards  gave  the  name  to  the  north-w^estern  district  Gaula- 
nitis  :  Joshua  xx.  8,  ch.  xxi.  27. 

Ver.  44.  This  is  the  law. — After  the  introductory  exhortation 
now  follows  the  "  second  law,"  and  begins  with  a  repetition  of 
the  ten  commandments.  In  order  to  distinguish  it  as  a  solemn  act 
on  the  part  of  INIoses,  by  which  he  once  for  all  delivered  to  the 
new  generation  that  which  their  fathers  had  received  on  Sinai, 
the  place  and  the  exact  time  are  first  minutely  given.  Many 
explanatory  additions  are  to  be  found  in  the  case  of  the  mention 
of  the  historical  circumstances,  as  is  suitable  to  a  continuous  dis- 
course. These  additions  afford  a  more  graphic  account  of  the 
whole  matter,  and  here  and  there  adduce  even  new  facts.  It  is 
remarkable  that  such  alterations  and  additions  should  occur  in 
the  repetition  of  the  ten  commandments,  of  which  that  said  ch. 
iv.  2  must  above  all  hold  good,  since  they  were  written  by  God 
Himself  on  tables  of  stone  ;  but  they  are  signs  that  in  this  and 
other  similar  repetitions  of  the  w'ord,  in  the  Word  of  God  itself, 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  still  operates  with  ever  fresh  power. 

Ver.  49.  Plain. — The  Arabah.     See  ch.  i.  2,  note. 

Tlie  sea  of  the  plain. — The  Dead  Sea. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Ver.  15.  Sabbath  day. — Very  remarkable  alterations  occur  in 
this  commandment.  The  difference  of  the  mode  of  beginning 
is  of  less  importance  ;  of  more  consequence  is  the  circumstance, 
that  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  day  is  founded,  not  on  God's  rest 
after  the  creation,  but  on  the  deliverance  out  of  Egypt.  The 
reason  of  this  may  well  be — that  the  people  are  now  on  the  point 


532  DEUTERONOMT  V.  31  ;   VI.  2-9. 

of  entering  the  Promised  Land,  after  the  afflictions  endured  in 
Egypt  and  in  the  wilderness  ;  and  this  entrance  into  Canaan  is 
an  emblem  of  the  rest  of  God  after  the  creation,  and  a  type  of 
the  heavenly  rest :  cf.  Heb.  iv.  7-9.  Since  God  has  now  given 
this  rest  to  His  people,  in  like  manner  ought  a  day  of  rest  with 
joy  to  be  granted  to  all  those  who  were  wearied  with  the  burden 
of  their  labour. 

Ver.  31.  Possess  it.—Ct  Exod.  xx.  18. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Ver.  2.  Mightest  fear. — Every  relation  of  the  sinner  to  God 
must  begin  in  fear,  and  therefore  in  so  many  places  it  is  described 
as  the  beginning  of  wisdom :  Job  xxviii.  28 ;  Prov.  i.  7,  ch.  xv. 
33,  ch.  xxiii.  17.  It  is  the  feeling  of  awe  in  the  presence  of  the 
All  Holy,  Almighty,  ever  near  God. 

Ver.  5.  All  thy  might. — Moses  proceeds  from  fear  to  love. 
Fear  makes  man  stand  in  holy  awe  before  God ;  love  unites  him 
to  God  in  closest  communion.  In  this  centre-piece  of  the  whole 
law  the  duty  of  love  of  God  above  everything  else  is  in  a  sublime 
way  made  to  depend  on  His  unity.  Because  the  only,  the  living 
God,  the  fulness  of  all  life  and  of  all  holiness,  has  revealed  Him- 
self as  the  covenant  God  of  His  people  Israel,  and  has  bestowed 
on  them  His  dearest  love ;  therefore  now  must  His  people  not  be 
divided  in  their  love  to  Him,  but  give  themselves  up  to  Him  with 
their  whole  heart.  Already  in  the  ten  commandments  had  God 
promised  His  favour  to  them  "  who  love  Him  "  (ch.  v.  10),  and 
He  repeats  this  many  times ;  as  He  also,  in  the  highest  of  all 
His  revelations,  especially  makes  Himself  known  to  Moses  as 
Love :  Exod,  xxxiv.  6,  7. — With  the  whole  of  this  compare  St 
Matt.  xxii.  34,  where  Christ  lays  no  other  ground  of  holiness 
and  morality  than  this  which  is  here  already  laid  in  the  law. 

Ver.  9.  On  thy  gates. — Cf.  Exod.  xiii.  9,  note.  The  "  writing 
on  the  posts  of  the  house  "  recalls  to  mind  a  superstitious  custom 
of  the  kind  in  Egypt.  A  counnandment  literally  to  be  observed 
is  assuredly  not  given  here,  although,  applied  in  a  free  spirit,  such 


DEUTERONOMY  VI.  12,  20 ;    VII.  2-25.  533 

an  inscription  might  arise  out  of  it.  This  the  pharisaical  spirit 
in  later  times  understood  quite  in  an  outward  sense. 

Ver.  12.  Forget  the  Lord.— The  enjoyment  of  the  good  things 
of  this  life  which  God  gives,  is  accompanied  with  the  danger  of 
forgetting  Ilim,  and  of  clinging  to  the  gods  of  nature,  as  has 
been  the  case  with  many  heathen  people.  The  remembrance  of 
God's  benefits  and  chastisements,  and  of  His  interference  in  their 
history,  was  to  serve  to  the  people  of  Israel  to  counterbalance 
this  danger. 

Ver.  20.  When  thy  son. — Cf.  the  beautiful  custom  at  the  feast 
of  the  Passover,  Exod.  xii.  26.  By  these  ordinances  was  the 
training  of  the  young  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  recommended  in 
the  most  persuasive  manner. 


CHAPTER  VH. 

Ver.  2.  Destroy  them ;  i.e.,  as  devoted  to  the  curse  of  the  Lord. 
Cf.  Lev.  xxvii.  28. 

Ver.  5.   Cut  doivn  their  images. — Cf.  Exod.  xxxiv.  13,  note. 

Ver.  7.  Fewest  of  all  people. — That  is,  when  the  Lord  chose 
their  fothers  they  stood  alone,  and  only  had  become  a  numerous 
people  by  His  mighty  blessing.  God's  free  grace,  which  for  the 
sake  of  His  people  had  become  bound  to  an  oath  of  promise, 
made  them  what  they  were,  and  of  this  they  ought  always  to  be 
mindful. 

Ver.  15.  Diseases  of  Egypt. — Egypt  was  in  ancient  times,  and 
is  still,  noted  as  tlie  seat  of  certain  diseases,  particularly  skin  dis- 
eases, and  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  blindness. 

Ver.  19.  Great  temptations. — The  miracles  whereby  the  Lord 
tried  the  Egyptians,  whether  they  would  let  Israel  go  or  not. 

Ver.  20.  Hornet. — See  Exod.  xxiii.  28,  note. 

Ver.  22.  Beasts  of  the  field. — See  Exod.  xxiii.  29,  30,  note. 

Ver.  25.  Be  snared. — That  thou  dost  not  begin  to  honour  these 
images  or  their  adornments. 


534  DEUTERONOMY  VIII.  2-16  ;    IX.  4. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Ver.  2.  Whether  thou  loouldest  keep. — The  wandering  in  the 
"wilderness  had  this  double  purpose — the  punishment  of  the  in- 
curable who  were  condemned  to  extermination,  and  the  trial  and 
purifying  of  the  generation  now  growing  up. 

Ver.  3.  Out  of  the  mouth. — Heb.,  "what  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  brings  forth ;" — "  that  God  is  not  tied  to  the  laws  of  His 
earthly  governance  of  the  world,  but  preserves  thee  by  His 
creative  power."  Israel  was  to  know  that  it  was  not  nature,  but 
God  the  Creator  of  nature,  who  nourishes  us  through  her ;  and 
for  this  purpose  the  people  were  not  to  be  fed  by  the  usual  pro- 
ductions of  nature,  but  by  an  extraordinary  work  of  God's 
almighty  power.  Cf.  Exod.  xvi.,  introd.,  and  the  application  of 
this  passage,  St  Matt.  iv.  3. 

Ver.  4.  Foot  swell ;  i.e.,  ye  have  had  no  need  of  shoes. 

Forty  years. — In  connection  with  the  foregoing  there  seems 
to  have  been  a  miraculous  preservation  of  them,  though  the 
mode  and  manner  cannot  be  determined. 

Ver.  8.  Honey. — On  the  fruitfulness  of  Canaan  here  comme- 
morated, and  the  contrast  of  its  present  unfruitfulness,  see  Exod. 
iii.  8,  note. 

Ver.  9.  Dig  brass. — The  latter  explains  the  former.  The 
stones  of  the  hills  are  full  of  iron-ore.  This  holds  good  especially 
of  the  basalt  mountains  in  the  east  of  the  land  of  Jordan,  the  very 
stone  of  which  is  ferruginous. 

Ver.  16.  To  do  thee  good. — Lit.,  "that  He  may  do  good  on  thine 
end."  The  end  among  the  people  of  God  is  always  good  and 
blessing. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Ver.  4.   For  the  wickedness. — Gen.  xv.  16;  Lev.  xviii.  24,  25. 
The  extermination  of  the  heathen  was  a  Divine  judgment  on 


DEUTERONOMY  IX.  6-29;    X.  4.  535 

their  sins ;  but  it  by  no  means  followed  that  the  Israelites  were  in 
themselves  better  than  they. 

Ver.  6.  A  stiff-necked  ijeople. — There  is  scarcely  any  place  in 
the  O.  T.  which  is  so  utterly  subversive  of  self-righteousness  as 
this.  As  the  ungodly  are  excluded  from  the  heavenly  inheri- 
tance by  reason  of  their  sins,  and  the  righteous  are  made  par- 
takers of  it ;  even  so  was  it  to  be  the  case  in  reference  to  Canaan. 
The  free  grace  of  the  Lord  chose  the  fathers,  and  brought  out  all 
the  good  that  was  in  Israel ;  but  yet  it  was  not  this  goodness  for 
whicli  the  people  were  preserved,  since  they  had  a  hundred  times 
perverted  all  God's  gifts  of  grace. 

Ver.  8.  Horeh. — In  these  discourses  of  Moses  the  Mount  of 
the  Law  is  usually  called  Horeb,  which  was  the  comprehensive 
name  for  the  whole  mountain  district.  Some  additions  are  made 
in  what  follows  to  the  history  which  is  here  repeated  from  Exod. 
xxxii. 

Ver.  20.  The  same  time. — This  circumstance  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  original  narrative ;  but  it  is  probably  noticed  in  this  place 
in  order  that  the  people  might  not  imagine  the  high  priest  on 
account  of  his  consecration  could  not  be  punished,  or  that  he 
had  by  reason  of  it  been  the  means  of  Saving  the  people. 

Ver.  23.  HeM^kened. — For  the  circumstances  mentioned  above, 
see  Num.  xi.  1  ;  Exod.  xvii.  7  ;  Num.  xi.  4  ;  Num.  xiv. 

Ver.  2b.  Would  destroy  you. — Not  at  Kadesh-barnea,  but  at 
Horeb  ;  to  which  earlier  narrative  Moses  again  reverts. 

Ver.  29.  Stretched-out  arm. — Cf.  the  two  prayers  of  Closes, 
Exod.  xxxii.  11,  and  Num.  xiv.  13  ;  out  of  the  latter  of  which 
something  here  is  repeated. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Ver.  4.  Gave  them  unto  vie. — Exod.  xxxiv.  1,  etc.  The  con- 
nection of  this  narrative  with  the  preceding  is  this  : — that  Moses 
would  show  how  on  account  of  his  prayer,  i.e.,  out  of  free  grace, 
the  Lord  has  received  His  people  into  favour  again,  and  renewed 
the  covenant  with  them,  by  means  of  the  new  tables,  the  ark  and 
the  appointment  of  the  Levites,  until  He  gives  him  the  com- 
mission to  lead  the  people  into  the  Promised  Land. 


536  DEUTERONOMY  X.  7-16  ;    XI.  2-30. 

Ver.  7.  Rivers  ofivaters. — These  two  verses  interrupt  the  con- 
nection of  the  narrative,  and  do  not  give  any  appropriate  mean- 
ing ;  moreover,  they  do  not  agree  with  the  hst  of  the  encamp- 
ments, Num.  xxxiii.  31.  They  appear,  therefore,  to  have  come 
into  this  place  through  some  misunderstanding  or  oversight  in 
very  early  times. 

Ver.  S.  At  that  time. — Taken  in  connection  with  ver.  5,  at 
the  time  when  the  covenant  was  renewed.  Cf.  Exod.  xxxii.  29, 
note. 

Ver.  9.  Promised  them. — Num.  xviii.  20,  ch.  xxvi.  53. 

Ver.  16.  Circumcise. — Cf.  ch.  xxx.  6;  Gen.  xvii.  13,  note  ; 
Rom.  ii.  29.  Take  away  the  old  natural  corruption  :  renew  and 
sanctify  yourselves  to  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Ver.  2.  Know  ye. — He  addresses  the  older  generation, — of 
whom  Joshua  and  Caleb  had  been  eye-witnesses  of  the  wonders 
in  Egypt ;  the  others,  of  those  in  the  wilderness. 

Ver.  10.  Garden  of  herbs. — In  Lower  Egypt  it  rains  very 
seldom  ;  in  Middle  and  Upper  Egypt,  sometimes  not  for  a  whole 
year.  The  watering  of  the  fields,  though  very  remunerative,  is 
still  uncommonly  wearisome,  and  effected  by  means  of  pumping 
machines. 

Ver  14.  First  rain. — The  "  first  rain  "  is  the  rain  of  autumn, 
in  October,  wdiich  falls  on  the  freshly  sown  seed,  after  there  has 
been  almost  an  entire  cessation  of  rain  in  the  summer.  The 
"  latter  rain  "  falls  in  March,  not  long  before  harvest-time. 

Ver.  20.  Doors.— Ch.  vi.  6-9. 

Ver.  29.  Mount  Ebal. — The  mountains  Gerisin  (or  Garizim) 
and  Ebal  rise  in  steep  walls  of  rock  immediately  out  of  the  valley 
of  Sichem,  the  present  Nablus,  about  800  feet  high  on  each  side. 
They  are  both  of  them  somewhat  barren,  but  Garizim  has  a 
ravine  full  of  streams  and  trees.  Each  of  the  mountains  has  a 
table-land  which  affords  room  to  a  considerable  number  of  men. 

Ver.  30.   Goeth  c/oTcn,— Behind  the  western  road. 


DEUTERONOMY  XII.  2.  537 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  repetition  of  the  command  to  destroy  utterly  the  false 
gods,  and  all  belonging  to  them,  serves  here  as  a  preparation  for 
the  enforcing  of  the  unity  of  the  worship  of  God.  The  reason 
for  this  command  was  very  apparent.  In  the  wilderness,  where 
Israel  formed  one  great  camp  under  definite  rules,  it  was  not 
possible  to  set  up,  at  all  events,  separate  places  of  worship,  how- 
ever mitch  idol-worship  might  be  practised  in  secret.  But  after 
the  separation  of  the  two  tribes  and  a  half  in  the  land  east  of 
Jordan,  Avhen  the  people  were  now  about  to  be  scattered  over  a 
wide  tract  of  country,  then  it  was  needful  to  make  this  com- 
mandment stringent.  The  way  for  it  was  already  paved  by  the 
statute,  like  to  it  in  spirit,  which  forbade  the  killing  of  ani- 
mals except  for  sacrifice  during  their  march  through  the  wilder- 
ness (cf.  Lev.  xvii.,  introd.).  This  was  now  revoked,  and  the 
statute  concerning  the  one  place  of  worship  put  in  its  stead. 
This  command  is  of  such  essential  consequence  to  the  whole  re- 
ligion of  the  Old  Testament,  that  its  existence  without  it  is  not 
conceivable.  After  therefore,  as  in  later  times,  it  was  trans- 
gressed— nay,  although  these  violations  of  it  were  at  times  the 
rule,  and  even  men  of  God  did  themselves  depart  from  it — still 
every  deep  investigation  of  the  connection  of  the  covenant  reli- 
gion shows  how  the  belief  in  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  purity 
of  His  revelation,  could  be  maintained  among  the  people  only  on 
this  condition.  It  is  remarkable,  moreover,  that  in  the  command 
which  follows,  mention  is  especially  made  of  the  thank-offerings 
which  were  joined  with  the  sacrificial  meals  (see  Lev.  iii,, 
introd.),  and  of  the  second  tithe,  which  had  an  afiinity  to  these. 
It  was  clearly  of  importance,  in  the  case  of  a  statute  apparently 
severe,  and  quite  opposed  to  the  wild  variety  of  heathen  life, 
when  one  uniform  dark  hue  was  imposed  on  the  Israelitish 
community,  that  a  "  rejoicing  before  the  Lord,"  a  sanctification 
even  of  earthly  joy  in  the  holy  festivals  of  the  people,  should  be 
declared  to  be  well-pleasing  to  God.  This  is  a  point  of  very 
great  importance  in  every  religious  constitution,  and  cannot  be 
neglected  for  a  length  of  time  without  bringing  a  punishment. 

Ver.  2.  (jreen  tree. — Mountains  and  groves  were,  as  is  well 


538  DEUTERONOMY  XII.  3-31. 

known,  everywhere  the  especial  places  of  idolatrous  worship. 
The  "  green  trees  "  we  find  often  mentioned  in  the  prophets,  as, 
e.g.,  Jer.  ii.  20,  ch.  iii.  6 ;  Ezek.  vi.  13. 

Ver.  3.  Out  of  that  place. — The  idolatrous  names  of  a  place 
were  often  changed  into  others,  as  is  mentioned  of  the  Reuben- 
ites.  Num.  xxxii.  28.  This  was  so  much  of  the  more  consequence, 
since  often  with  these  names  were  associated  historical  recollec- 
tions, customs,  popular  feasts,  which  might  gradually  favour 
idolatry. 

Ver.  9.  Giveth  you. — It  is  evident  from  this  passage,  that  in 
the  wilderness  a  great  many  of  the  statutes  given  were  not 
obeyed.  This  happened  partly,  indeed,  by  reason  of  the  lawless- 
ness of  the  people,  but  partly  because  compliance  with  them  there 
was  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  Under  this  neglect  came  not 
only  many  of  the  regulations  about  the  sacrifices,  but  also,  as  we 
know  from  Joshua  v.  3,  etc.,  the  observance  of  circumcision. 

Ver.  11.  Your  tithes. — Concerning  these  second  tithes,  see 
ch.  xiv.  22. 

Ver.  15.  Of  the  hart. — Which  animals  were  clean  indeed ;  i.e., 
allowed  for  eating,  but  might  not  be  sacrificed.  This  is  the  re- 
scinding of  the  statute  given.  Lev.  xvii.,  for  the  Israelites  while 
in  the  wilderness. 

Ver.  17.  Firstlings. — Here  it  appears  that  as,  ver.  1],  there  is 
a  second  tithe,  so  also  a  second  gift  of  the  first-born  is  com- 
manded, since  the  usual  one  fell  to  the  priests.  Perhaps  we 
may  suppose,  since  a  gift  of  both  the  first-born  is  not  mentioned, 
and  would,  moreover,  have  been  very  hard,  that  probably  the 
female  first-born  of  the  animals  were  given  for  these  thank-offer- 
ings (while  "  every  male  that  openeth  womb ''  was  holy  to  the 
Lord),  as  the  female  of  animals  was  allowed  in  the  case  of  thank- 
offering  :  Lev.  xvii.  1. 

Ver.  31.  Burnt  in  the  fire. — Whereby  human  sacrifice,  inde- 
pendently of  its  being  offered  to  idols,  is  declared  to  be  an  abo- 
mination :  cf.  Lev.  xviii.  21,  note. 


DEUTERONOMY  XIII.  2-13.  539 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Even  when  a  prophet  performs  a  miracle  for  the  sake  of  seduc- 
ing the  people  into  idolatry,  they  shall  not  believe  him,  but  punish 
him.  Such  a  false  miracle  is  referred  to  the  Lord,  who  thei'eby 
will  prove  His  people,  ver.  3.  In  like  manner  miracles  are  men- 
tioned in  the  N.  T.  as  about  to  take  place  in  the  time  of  Anti- 
christ (2  Thess.  ii.  9,  10).  They  are  produced  by  the  influence 
of  superhuman  spiritual  powers  on  the  earthly  order  of  the  world; 
but  since  they  cannot  happen  without  Divine  permission,  they 
are  therefore,  in  this  respect,  like  all  devilish  temptations, 
ascribed  to  God  Himself.  This  precept  is  of  great  importance, 
because  it  shows  that  even  in  the  O.  T.  a  miracle  was  only  of  an 
introductory  and  preparatory  cliaracter,  and  never  Avas  meant  in 
and  for  itself  to  work  as  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  truth  (cf.  St 
Matt.  iv.  21,  note).  Every  miracle  points  to  something;  and  if 
that  to  which  it  points  is  shown  by  other  yet  more  undoubted 
signs  to  be  false  and  mischievous,  then  the  miracle  itself  is  a  lying 
mu'acle.  Therefore  the  N.  T.  also  warns  us  against  false  pro- 
phetic spirits:  2  Cor.  xii.  1,  etc.;  1  St  John  iv.  1. 

Ver.  2.  Serve  them ;  i.e.,  which  he  had  promised  for  the  con- 
firmation of  this  his  invitation. 

Ver.  5.  From  the  midst  of  thee. — In  these  words,  so  often  re- 
peated in  this  book  (ch.  xvii.  7,  ch.  xix.  19,  ch.  xxi.  21),  the 
expression  is  stronger  than  in  the  usual,  and  in  the  main  equi- 
valent, one,  "  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people  "  (see 
Gen.  xvii.  14,  note).  As  that  first  decision  of  the  law  made  the 
transgressors  outlaws,  so  in  this  commandment  the  meanino; 
certainly  is  not  that  every  transgressor  of  this  kind  shall  be 
brought  to  death  in  a  judicial  manner,  but  the  words,  ver.  9,  are 
to  be  taken  literally.  The  revenge  of  blood  was  allowed  in  the 
case  of  murder,  which  was  in  the  eyes  of  the  law  less  than  this. 
That  in  later  times  a  regular  process  took  the  place  of  this 
mode  of  punishment,  is  very  natural,  especially  as  the  persecution 
of  the  true  prophets  had  shown  the  danger  of  this  summary  car- 
rying out  of  the  law.  The  stoning  of  Stephen  was  under  pre- 
tence of  this  command. 

Ver.  13.  Children  of  Belial. — This  word,  which  so  frequently 


540  DEUTERONOMY  XIII.  16  ;    XIV.  1-21. 

occurs,  signifies  literally  "sons  of  worthlessness ;"  i.  e.,  base, 
worthless  men.  "  Belijaal,"  generally,  "  worthless,"  ch.  xv.  9. 
According  to  some,  this  was  the  origin  of  the  name  Belial,  which 
St  Paul  applies  to  the  devil,  2  Cor.  vi.  15. 

Ver.  16.  Not  he  built  again. — This  command  goes,  therefore, 
further  than  in  the  case  of  customary  banishment,  where  the  spoil 
was  divided  after  that  the  Lord  had  received  a  portion,  as  took 
place  in  the  case  of  the  conquest  of  the  Midianites  (Num.  xxxi. 
32),  naturally,  because  the  guilt  was  far  greater. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Ver.  1.  For  the  dead.— CI  Lev.  xix.  28. 

Ver.  3.  Abominable  thing. — Cf.  for  the  whole  of  this.  Lev.  xi., 
from  whence  this  is  a  brief  recapitulation. 

Ver.  5.  Roebuck ;  i.  e.,  the  gazelle,  as  is  always  its  meaning  in 
the  Bible. 

Chamois. — The  names  of  these  animals  are  hard  to  explain. 
Probably  they  were  different  species  of  the  hart  and  deer  kind. 

Ver.  21.  Holy  people. — Here,  for  the  first  time,  does  a  dis- 
tinction occur  between  "the  strangers,"  which  in  after  times 
was  developed  into  the  double  classes  of  "  proselytes  of  the  gate 
and  the  proselytes  of  righteousness  "  (cf.  St  Matt.  viii.  5,  note). 
Before  this  it  is  repeatedly  said  (Lev.  xxiv.  22  ;  Num.  ix.  14), 
that  those  born  in  the  land  and  the  strangers  should  have  one 
ordinance  :  here  a  freedom  is  given  them  (cf.  Lev.  xvii.  1 5)  which 
no  Israelite  had,  and  which  must  tend  to  lower  them  in  the  eyes 
of  that  people.  The  germ  of  this  is  found  in  the  regulation,  that 
strangers  might  partake  in  the  paschal  meal  only  on  the  con- 
dition of  having  first  been  circumcised :  Exod.  xii.  48.  It  was 
natural  that  when  they  had  now  begun  to  receive  their  future 
habitations,  such  regulations  must  increase ;  and  to  these  other 
privileges  and  customs  were  joined  (ch.  xv.  3).  TJncircumcised 
strangers,  who  merely  resided  among  the  Israelites,  were  com- 
pelled to  observe  certain  general  commands,  but  were  free  from 
the  rest,  purposely  to  make  a  distinction  between  them  and  the 
Israelites. 


DEUTEROXOMY  XIV,  29  ;    XV.  12.  541 

Ver.  29.  Which  thou  doest. — Therefore,  besides  the  tithe 
which  was  paid  to  the  Levites,  there  was  also  a  second  tithe,  so 
that  every  Israehte  gave  a  fifth  of  his  fruits  (see  Gen.  xxvii.  13). 
This,  whether  consisting  of  natural  product  or  of  money,  was 
destined  for  two  years  for  sacrifices  and  sacrificial  meals  in  the 
holy  place  of  Divine  worship.  In  the  third  year  this  tithe  was 
not  brought  there,  but  laid  up  at  home,  and  there  works  of  love 
towards  the  Levites  and  the  poor  were  exercised  from  this  store. 
What  a  spirit  of  holy,  brotherly  love,  and  of  firm  union  of  all 
members  and  classes,  must  have  been  cherished  by  this  law,  the 
like  of  which  is  nowhere  to  be  found  amonc  the  heathen  ! 


CHAPTER  XV. 

In  the  former  chapter  practical  love  and  kindliness  towards 
the  poor  is,  by  the  appointment  of  the  second  tithe,  put  in  close 
connection  with  the  service  of  God.  Here  it  is  interwoven  with 
the  institution  of  the  sabbatical  year,  commanded  Lev.  xxv.  1. 
As  in  this  year  nothing  was  to  be  reaped,  so  likewise  could  no 
debt  be  called  in  from  an  Israelite — for  of  this  is  it  spoken,  not 
of  the  remhsioyi  of  debt.  It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  at  ver. 
4  it  is  promised  there  shall  be  no  poor  in  the  land,  while  at 
ver.  11  (in  agreement  with  Christ's  word,  St  Matt.  xxvi.  11) 
the  direct  contrary  appears  to  be  said.  But  this  is  one  of  the 
many  points  (like,  for  example,  the  fruitfulness  of  the  land,  the 
victory  over  enemies,  the  security  and  extension  of  their  king- 
dom) in  which,  by  reason  of  the  disobedience  of  the  people,  the 
promise,  which  was  given  under  conditions,  never  came  to  be 
fulfilled.  Here,  therefore,  Israel  had  a  continual  remembrancer 
how  far  it  fell  short  of  its  destined  blessing.  The  sight  of  the 
poor  among  the  people  of  God  was  designed  to  be  a  continual 
penitential  sermon,  both  for  individual  Israelites  and  for  the 
whole  nation. 

Ver.  12.  Free  from  thee. — Here  is  not  meant  the  year  of  re- 
lease, or  the  sabbatical  year  spoken  of  before,  but  the  seventh  of 
service,  which  for  the  individual  answered  to  the  sabbatical 
year :  cf  Exod.  xxi.  2,  note. 


542  DEUTERONOMY  XV.  17-20  ;   XVI.  2-15. 

Ver.  17.  Shall  do  likewise. — The  earlier  command  is  extended 
by  two  further  regulations :  that  a  present  be  given  to  the  servant 
when  leaving  service;  and  that  the  ceremony  performed  in  the 
case  of  continuance  in  service  should  be  extended  to  the  maid- 
servant. 

Ver.  18.  A  double  hired  servant;  because  a  slave  was  bound  to 
more  service,  and,  besides,  stood  considerably  lower  in  his  privi- 
leges, than  a  hired  labourer. 

Ver.  20.  Tliou  and  thy  household. — Here,  also,  we  are  to  bear 
in  mind  the  distinction  which  was  observed,  ch.  xii.  17,  note. 
The  male  firstlings  were  sanctified  to  the  Lord  :  they  could  be 
partaken  of  by  the  priests  alone.  The  female  firstlings  were 
used  for  the  sacrificial  meals.  Others  put  a  strained  interpreta- 
tion upon  this  eating  of  the  first-born,  by  supposing  that  it  was 
done  by  the  priests  in  the  name  of  all,  which  is  not  possible,  as 
clearly  here  it  is  spoken  of  sacrificial  feasts. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Ver.  2.  His  name  there. — Sacrifices  of  sheep  and  cattle  are 
here  expressly  named  "  Passover,"  as  elsewhere  only  the  lamb  is 
so  called.  Among  these  are  to  be  understood  the  free-will  offer- 
ings which  the  Jews  call  "  Chagiga  "  ("  feast-offerings").  Cf. 
2  Chron.  xxxv.  7-9.  These  were  offered  partly  as  burnt-sacri- 
fices, partly  as  thank-offerings  ;  and  of  these  latter  were  sacrificial 
feasts  made.  In  order  to  eat  these,  the  Pharisees  would  not  de- 
file themselves  :  St  John  xviii.  28. 

Ver.  7.  Unto  thy  tents. — This  is  not  to  be  understood  as  a 
command,  but  as  a  permission.  The  eating  of  the  unleavened 
bread  might  be  at  home,  outside  the  Holy  Place.  Every  one, 
therefore,  who  was  hindered  by  pressing  business  from  celebrat- 
ing the  rest  of  the  feast,  might  return  home  after  having  par- 
taken of  the  paschal  lamb. 

Ver.  8.  No  ivork  therein. — On  the  seventh  day  also  unleavened 
bread  was  eaten  (vers.  3,4);  but  it  had,  moreover,  this  peculiarity, 
that  on  it  a  solemn  assembly  took  place. 

Ver.  15.  Shall  choose. — In  distinction  fi:om  the  Passover  (see 


DEUTERONOMY  XVI.  18-22  ;    XVII.  1-9.  543 

ver.  7,  note),  all  were  to  remain  on  this  feast  seven  days  in  the 
Holy  Place. 

Ver.  18.  Oncers. — The  same  name  (Schoterim)  as  Exod.  v. 
6  ;  "  scribes — writers,"  who  probably  kept  the  genealogical  tables 
and  lists  of  primogeniture. 

Ver.  21.  Grove. — Lit.,  "  no  Aschera  of  any  wood."  This  place 
particularly  has  given  occasion  to  the  translation  "  grove."  Here, 
however,  a  rude  image  of  generative  Nature,  made  of  the  trunk  of 
a  tree,  is  spoken  of:  see  Exod.  xxxiv.  13,  note. 

Ver.  22.  Image. — A  stone  pillar,  often  only  a  rough  unhewn 
stone,  was  the  object  of  worship. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Ver.  1.  An  abomination. — A  short  summary  of  the  statutes, 
Lev.  xxii.  19. 

Ver.  7.  From  among  you. — Above,  ver.  13,  the  false  prophet 
who  seduced  to  idolatry  had  been  spoken  of;  here,  those  who 
were  seduced  to  it. 

Ver.  9.  Thou  slialt  come. — From  the  beginning,  since  Aaron, 
as  priest,  had  been  appointed  Moses'  coadjutor  (Exod.  iv.  1),  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  power  had  been  distinguished  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  people  of  Israel.  Moses,  as  the  servant  entrusted 
with  the  management  of  the  whole  house  (Num.  xii.  7),  stood 
of  course  above  Aaron  even :  afterwards,  however,  there  is  no 
such  subordination  of  the  priests  in  matters  pertaining  to  God's 
worship.  The  law  was  given,  and  could  not  be  altered  ;  and  the 
interpretation  of  it  belonged  in  the  main  to  the  priests.  How- 
ever from  the  first  there  were,  besides  them  (Exod.  xviii.),  judges 
from  the  order  of  the  laity.  Among  these,  oftentimes,  one  was 
more  prominent  than  the  rest,  who  was  manifested  as  God's 
vicegerent  to  the  whole  of  Israel,  as  Moses  himself  placed  Joshua 
with  Eleasar.  This  part  of  the  temporal  constitution  was  not  at 
the  first  settled  by  God.  A  long  troubled  time  transferred  the 
power  of  supreme  judge  to  many  hands,  until  more  and  more 
the  want  of  a  king  was  demonstrated.  For  each  smaller  matter 
there  were  tribunals  in  pai'ticular  places ;  but  in  the  place  of 


544  DEUTERONOMY  XVII.  9. 

the  sanctuaiy  the  high  priest  sat,  in  conjunction  with  other  priests, 
as  judge ;  and,  besides  him,  there  might  be  a  chief  judge  else- 
where, before  whom  the  more  difficult  cases  were  brought,  and 
to  whom  appeal  was  made  from  the  inferior  judges.  As  to  the 
diflFerence  of  the  power  of  these  several  authorities,  nothing  more 
precise  is  mentioned.  We  find  the  power  of  the  kings  and  of 
the  judges  often  stretched  very  far.  Many  of  them,  if  they  had 
shown  themselves  to  be  God's  extraordinary  messengers,  exe- 
cuted, as  Moses  and  other  prophets  (Elijah),  even  the  offices  of 
divine  worship  ;  e.g>,  Samuel,  Solomon ;  while  without  such  cre- 
dentials intrusion  into  the  priestly  office  was  severely  punished 
(2  Chron.  xxvi.  16,  etc.).  It  is  left  to  the  course  of  the  history 
to  develop  these  relations  :  sometimes  we  find  the  kingly  autho- 
rity the  more  prominent ;  sometimes  the  high  priest  executed  the 
functions  of  the  secular  power  together  with  his  spiritual  offices, 
and  obtained  a  council  of  priests  and  elders  to  assist  him.  Out 
of  the  patriarchal  government  of  heads  of  tribes,  even  before  the 
time  of  Moses,  had  the  kingly  power  arisen  in  many  people  allied 
by  descent  to  the  Israelites,  though,  certainly,  the  foundation  of 
this  power  was  very  different  among  different  people.  The 
Pharaohs  in  Egypt,  who  belonged  to  the  priestly  caste  and 
governed  in  accordance  with  its  laws,  could,  in  their  state,  which 
was  ruled  in  so  absolute  a  manner,  have  little  except  the  name 
in  common  with  the  many  insignificant  Canaanite  kings  in 
Palestine.  There  we  find,  e.g.,  together  with  the  heads  of  the 
tribes  (Num.  xxii.  4),  who  possessed  great  power,  and  acted 
quite  independently,  five  kings  in  the  not  very  important  people 
of  the  Midianites  (Num.  xxxi.  8).  In  Basan  there  was  one 
king  (a  descendant  of  the  ancient  race  of  giants),  who  probably, 
as  among  the  ancient  Greeks,  had  tlie  reputation  of  a  higher, 
perhaps  of  a  divine  descent.  Among  the  Edomites  we  find  elec- 
tive kings,  who  were  even  chosen  from  foreigners  (cf.  Gen.xxxvi. 
37).  In  the  great  Eastern  kingdoms,  as  in  Egypt  and  afterwards 
in  Persia,  the  kings  were  regarded  as  a  kind  of  incarnation  of 
the  deity  ;  which  view,  as  the  power  of  the  people  increased,  had 
for  its  consequence  despotic  authority  and  unbounded  extrava- 
gance. Such  were  the  circumstances  which  surrounded  the 
Israelites  as  they  were  on  the  point  of  invading  Canaan.  Every 
thought  expressed  in  the  following  law  about  kings  has  reference 
to  these. 


DEUTERONOMY  XVII.  15-18,  545 

Ver.  15.  Shall  choose. — The  merely  natural  foundations  of 
kingly  authority,  descent  (to  which,  in  ancient  times,  a  fancied 
relation  with  the  gods  was  joined),  or  the  choice  of  the  people,  in 
which  was  expressed  tlic  sinful  desire  of  the  multitude  to  be 
"  like  the  heathen," — these  reasons  might  not  decide  the  matter. 
The  Lord  Himself  must  speak  by  the  prophets,  or  the  high  priest. 
Cf.  the  choice  of  Saul,  1  Sam.  ix.,  and  David's,  1  Sam.  xvi.,  in 
whose  family  the  throne  was  established. 

A  stranger. — Thereby  would  the  kingdom  and  people  of  Israel 
have  lost  its  whole  significance  and  purpose,  as  salvation  was 
promised  to  the  descendants  of  Israel  after  the  flesh.  For  this 
reason,  the  house  of  Plerod  the  Idumsean  was  not  regarded  as  an 
Israelitish  kingly  family,  although  at  that  time  his  people  had 
received  circumcision,  and  were  united  with  the  Isi'aelites. 

Ver.  16.  i\^o  more  that  xoay. — The  reason  here  assigned  relates 
to  that  particular  period,  since  the  danger  here  mentioned  was 
at  that  time  a  very  pressing  one,  cf  Num.  xiv.  4 ;  but  in  later 
times  it  no  longer  existed.  The  land  of  Canaan  knew  no  horses 
in  more  ancient  times.  Among  the  riches^of  the  patriarchs,  the 
presents  which  they  received,  w^e  do  not  find  any  mention  of 
them.  In  the  war  of  conquest  under  Joshua,  we  do  not  meet 
with  them  among  the  southern,  but  only  among  the  northern  tribes. 
In  the  time  of  the  Judges,  still  no  mention  of  them.  Under  David 
they  appear  again.  On  the  other  hand,  we  meet  with  them 
under  the  rule  of  Joseph  in  Egypt,  and  in  the  exodus  of  the 
Israelites  from  thence. 

Ver.  17.  Turn  not  away.— In  this  prohibition,  likewise,  we  see 
altogether  Closes'  time  before  lis,  in  which  the  seduction  of  the 
Israelites  to  idolatry  by  means  of  the  Midianitish  and  Moabitish 
women  was  still  kept  in  lively  remembrance.  It  is  notorious 
how  Solomon's  violation  of  this  law  led  him  into  the  same  error: 
1  Kings  xi.  1.  Polygamy  was  not,  indeed,  forbidden  by  the 
law ;  and  a  distinction  must  be  made  between  the  usual  practice 
of  it — the  having  two  or  three  wives — and  the  outrageous  luxury 
of  the  great  in  Eastern  countries,  who  multiplied  their  wives  to 
an  immoderate  degree,  partly  for  ostentation,  partly  from  a  re- 
finement of  lust  and  desire.  Such  excesses,  which  could  not 
be  supported  on  any  mistaken  natural  wants,  necessarily  led  in 
ancient  times  to  idolatry. 

Ver.  18.  In  a  book;  i.e.,  he  shall  cause  a  copy  to  be  taken  of 

2  M 


546  DEUTERONOMY  XVIII.  2-11. 

the  book  of  the  law  from  the  original  in  the  hands  of  the  priests. 
No  king  of  Israel  was  to  regard  himself  as  lawgiver  of  the  people 
of  God ;  he  was  rather  to  place  the  law  of  the  Lord  before  his 
eyes,  and  to  make  it  his  rule  and  guide. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Ver.  2.   Said  unto  them.—CL  Num.  xviii.  8. 

Ver.  8.  His  patrimony. — When  a  priest  settles  in  the  place  of 
the  sanctuary,  in  order  there  to  live  for  the  service  of  God,  he 
shall  receive  his  share  in  all  the  sacrifice-gifts,  and  need  not 
reckon  what  has  been  paid  him  from  the  sale  of  his  patrimony. 

Ver.  9.  Those  nations. — Israel  is  the  people  of  the  living  God, 
WIio  will  not  leave  nor  forget  His  possession.  Therefore  the 
people  of  God  are  forbidden  all  those  arts  by  which  the  heathen, 
after  their  own  notions,  endeavoured  to  divert  the  anger  of  their 
gods  or  to  learn  their  will.  On  the  other  hand,  a  continual  and 
sufficient  revelation  is  promised  them  by  the  Spirit  and  word  of 
God.  But  as  every  imperfect  fulfilment  of  a  prophecy  points  to 
a  perfect  one,  so  do  we  find  here  the  prophecy  points  to  the 
greatest  Prophet,  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Testament. 

Ver.  10.  Pass  thi'ougJi  the  fire. — In  which,  likewise,  human 
sacrifices  offered  to  the  true  God  are  forbidden :  cf.  Num. 
xviii.  21. 

Useth  divination. — Lit.,  "a  divider,"  as  a  certain  kind  of  sooth- 
sayer was  called,  probably  because  certain  subjects  were  separated 
in  soothsaying,  and  in  these  departments  the  signs  were  observed. 

Observer  of  times. — Heb.,  "  an  interpreter  of  clouds,"  augur : 
Lev.  xix.  26. 

Enchanter. — Heb.,  "  an  interpreter  of  snakes,"  who  predicts 
according  to  the  movements  of  these  creatures. 

Witch. — One  who  pronounces  forms  of  chaniiing  over  anything. 

Ver.  11.  Charyner. — Lit.,  "  one  who  binds  the  land  ;"  i.e.,  by 
a  charm  lays  anything  under  a  ban. 

Necromancer. — Heb. :  "  And  he  who  inquires  of  a  conjurer  of 
the  dead,  or  wdio  has  a  soothsaying  spirit,  and  he  who  seeks  of  the 
dead."    By  the  first  of  these  three  cognate  words  (Oob)  is  a  man 


DEUTERONOMY  XVIII.  12-15.  547 

understood,  whose  calling  it  was  to  be  able  to  summon  up  departed 
spirits  to  declare  the  future,  or  one  in  whom  himself  such  a  spirit 
dwelt ;  therefore,  the  woman  of  whom  Said  inquired,  is  said  to 
be,  literally,  '•' a  woman  who  possesses  an  Oob  (1  Sam.  xxviii.  7). 
And  so  the  old  translations  explain  it  by  an  engastrimythus — 
a  ventriloquist,  with  which  indeed  the  Hebrew  word  well  agrees, 
which  properly  means  "  a  pipe."  The  second  word  signifies  a 
"  soothsaying  spirit,"  such  as  the  damsel  at  Philippi  had  :  Acts 
xvi.  IG.  Tliis  is  a  kind  of  soothsaying  by  means  of  a  strange 
spirit  personally  dwelling  in  the  speaker.  The  third  kind  is  that 
where  access  is  not  sought  with  persons  dealing  in  these  arts, 
but  where  possession  of  such  arts  is  attempted  by  themselves. 

Ver.  12.  From  before  thee. — All  these  things  are  in  themselves 
an  abomination,  even  independently  of  the  exact  idolatry  con- 
nected with  them  ;  since  by  natural  means,  by  arts  which  would 
employ  or  assure  the  assistance  of  the  hidden  powers  of  nature, 
or  the  higher  spirits  of  nature,  men  purposed  to  know  God's  will. 
The  offering  up  of  children  in  sacrifice  so  far  resembled  these 
practices,  inasmuch  as  it  was  a  self-appointed  offering,  not  com- 
manded by  God,  i)i  order  to  bind  Him,  to  compel  Him,  as  it 
were,  to  grant  something. 

Ver.  IB.  Perfect;  i.e.,  not  serve  half  God,  half  other  powers 
and  spirits. 

Ver.  15.  Ye  shall  hearken. — God  will  reveal  Himself  in  suffi- 
cient fulness  and  clearness  to  His  people  through  the  prophets  ; 
so  that  there  shall  be  no  need  of  any  additional  arts.  His  word 
is  enough  for  all,  and  He  will  never  suffer  it  to  fail  His  people  : 
cf.  Num.  xxiii.  23.  This  is  a  prediction  of  Christ  as  the  true 
Prophet,  altogether  resembling  that  of  the  seed  of  the  woman 
(Gen.  iii.  15).  In  this  prophecy,  wherein  compensation  is  pro- 
mised to  the  people  of  God  for  all  the  heathen  arts  forbidden 
them,  there  are  two  points  more  especially  to  be  observed  :  First, 
tliat  the  revelation  of  God  through  Moses  was  yet  imperfect,  and 
needed  the  completion  of  it  through  the  prophets,  i.e.,  through 
fresh  similar  revelations;  and  insomuch  as  this  revelation  em- 
braces all  the  prophets  who  have  ever  risen  in  Israel,  Christ,  the 
highest  of  all,  is  comprehended  among  them.  Secondly,  that  this 
Prophet  should  be  like  Moses ;  and  here  the  point  of  resemblance 
comes  into  consideration.  To  this  it  belongs,  that  the  promised 
Prophet  should  not  depend  on  Moses,  but  should  prophesy  inde- 


548  DEUTERONOMY  XVIII.  19,  22. 

pendently  oat  of  the  abundance  of  the  Spirit  immediately  given 
Him.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  whole  of  the  O.  T.  afterwards. 
Its  prophets  but  rarely  appeal  to  the  law  or  interpret  it,  but 
supplement  the  revelation.  This  is  much  more  the  case  with 
Christ  and  His  apostles.  JSIoreover,  it  is  a  part  of  this  re- 
semblance, that  only  then  this  promise  is  entirely  fulfilled,  when 
a  prophet  appears  who  conijiletes  that  which  the  law  has  left 
unfinished.  All  the  prophets  carry  forward  the  revelation  ;  but 
they  themselves  point  to  a  time  when  the  revelation  and  know- 
ledge of  the  Lord  shall  be  perfect  {e.g.,  Isa.  liv.  13  ;  Jer.  xxxi. 
34).  The  prophet  who  completes  all  which  Moses  left  un- 
finished, is  a  prophet  like  Moses.  A  prophet  like  Christ  can  no 
more  come  after  Him  ;  yet  the  part  of  tliis  prediction  whicli 
promises  that  a  revelation  shall  never  fail  the  people  of  God,  is 
fully  verified,  since  the  word  is  all-sufficient ;  and  by  this 
word  "  the  Spirit  is  poured  out  on  all  flesh,  that  the  sons  and 
the  daughters  of  the  people  of  God  prophesy"  (Joel  iii.  1 ;  Acts 
ii.  17).  By  a  continued  inward  revelation,  though  dependent 
on  the  word  and  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  that  aftbrded  to  the  people 
of  God  in  the  New  Testament,  which  no  heathen  people  pos- 
sesses— a  continuous  stream  of  enlightening  out  of  the  fulness  of 
the  grace  of  God. 

Ver.  19.  Requh^e  it  of  him. — The  connection  in  which,  as 
Moses  here  announces,  that  promise  was  first  given,  opens  to  us 
from  another  point  of  view  a  still  fnrtlier  insight  into  its  mean- 
ing. There  is  a  progress  in  the  revelation  made  by  prophecy 
so  far  as  this,  that  in  it  the  outward  terrors  are  no  longer  promi- 
nent, as  in  the  case  of  the  giving  of  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai ; 
that  God  will  speak  to  His  people  no  more  immediately,  but 
through  the  mediation  of  human  instruments ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, in  distinction  from  the  law  which  raises  up  an  insurmount- 
able barrier  betwixt  the  Creator  and  the  creature,  betwixt  the 
Holy  One  and  the  sinner,  in  this  revelation  the  gracious  con- 
descension of  God  to  the  man,  in  whom  He  dwells,  and  through 
whom  He  speaks,  is  to  be  eminently  conspicuous, — which  con- 
descension appears  in  its  completeness  in  the  incarnation  of 
Christ. 

Ver.  22.  Not  be  afraid  of  him. — Although,  according  to  ch. 
xiii.  1,  the  miracles  of  a  prophet  were  designed  to  draw  men's 
attention  to  him,  still  they  could  not  be  in  themselves  a  suffi- 


DEUTERONOMY  XIX.  3-'21.  549 

cient  guarantee :  on  the  other  hand,  a  true  prophet  will  never 
make  a  false  prediction ;  while  every  false  prophet,  in  imitating  the 
true,  will  often  miss  the  truth  in  his  announcements  respecting 
the  future.  As  Israel  was  pre-eminently  a  people  of  the  future, 
the  declaration  of  the  future  benefits  and  judgments  of  the  Lord 
always  continued  to  be  an  important  part  of  the  duty  of  the 
prophets. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  law  respecting  the  cities  of  refuge,  which  was  given 
Num.  XXXV.  6,  and,  in  regard  to  those  on  the  east  side  of  Jor- 
dan, carried  into  execution  (Deut.  iv.  41),  is  here  (like  many  of 
the  most  important  laws)  again  enjoined,  and  then  the  express 
command  given  to  add  three  more  to  those  already  determined. 

Ver.  3.  Prepare  thee  a  xcay ;  i.e.,  make  good,  firm  ways 
thither. 

Ver.  7.   Command  thee. — This  refers  to  ch.  iv.  41,  etc. 

Ver.  13.  Go  tcell  ivith  thee. — For  all  this,  cf.  Num.  xxxv.  6. 
The  regulations  of  the  law  are  only  here  made  more  clear. 

Ver.  14.  To  j^ossess  it. — This  great  offence  is  perhaps  men- 
tioned here  in  particular,  because  the  landmarks  were  of  much 
consequence,  especially  in  reference  to  the  cities  of  refuge.  In 
Israel,  moreover,  they  had  a  still  higher  degree  of  sanctity,  as 
having  been  settled  by  God. 

Ver.  15.  Tliree  witnesses. —  Cf.  Num.  xxxv.  30,  ch.  xxii.  16; 
St  Matt,  xviii.  16. 

Ver.  21.  Foot  for  foot. — The  general  law  of  retaliation,  the 
foundation  of  the  whole  law  of  judicial  punishment  (cf.  Exod.  xxi. 
25,  note),  is  here  expressly  repeated  in  reference  to  false  wit- 
nesses, that  they  shall  suffer  that  which  they  had  purposed  to 
inflict. 


^^0  DKDTERONOMr  XX.   1-19. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

The  following  laws,  which  relate  to  wars,  rest  on  two  main 
principles.  The  first  is,  that  Israel  is  the  people  of  the  Lord,  and 
carries  on  war  only  in  His  name  ;  therefore,  ought  not  to  rely  on 
fleshly  might,  but  to  allow  freedom  from  warlike  service  to  all 
who  have  either  entered  on  some  new  relation  of  life,  or  who, 
through  fearfulness  of  heart,  are  wanting  in  that  courage  of  faith 
which  should  be  the  strength  of  the  Lord's  host.  The  second  is, 
that  God's  people  ought  to  love  peace  rather  than  war,  and  may 
never  give  way  to  a  savage  desire  of  extermination ;  and  there- 
fore are  bound,  except  in  the  execution  of  the  judicial  punish- 
ment commanded  by  God,  always  to  offer  peace,  and  so  to  spare 
the  fruit-trees  even,  which  were  planted  before  a  besieged  place. 

Ver.  1.  Is  with  thee. — By  this  one  word  Israel  is  reminded  of 
the  wonderful  fact,  that  a  small,  poor,  oppressed  people  were 
saved  out  of  the  hands  of  enemies  mightier  than  themselves,  but 
at  the  same  time  are  admonished  only  to  carry  on  the  wars  of 
the  Lord. 

Ver.  2.  Priest. — According  to  Jewish  tradition,  a  priest  was 
especially  consecrated  to  this  business,  and  bore  the  name  of 
"  the  anointed  of  war." 

Ver.  5.  Oncers. — The  "  Schoterim,"  or  scribes  who  kept  the 
registers  of  genealogy  and  the  rolls  of  the  tribes,  and  so  had  the 
charge  of  the  levies,  and  the  appointment  of  the  leaders  of  the 
armv  (ver.  9)  :  cf.  Exod.  v.  6,  note. 

Ver.  6.  Eaten  of  it. — Lit.,  "  made  it  common."  According  to 
Lev.  xix.  23,  24,  all  fruit-bearing  trees  remained  three  years  un- 
touched ;  in  the  fourth  year  the  fruit  belonged  to  the  Lord,  and 
only  in  the  fifth  year  might  it  be  applied  to  common  use  :  cf. 
ch.  xxviii.  30. 

Ve"r.  17.  Destroy  them. — Cf  Lev.  xxvii.  28,  note. 

Ver.  19.  Is  manh  life. — Heb. :  ''  Since  thou  eatest  thereof,  and 
mayest  not  hew  it  down  (since  man  is  the  tree  of  the  field)  to 
come  before  thee  in  the  bulwark ; "  i.e.,  "  thou  shalt  not  hew  it 
down  for  ramparts  or  stakes,  since  thou  eatest  thereof,  and  man 
has  his  subsistence  from  the  trees  of  the  field."  The  object  of  this 
prohibition  is  not  the  present  utility  only,  arising  from  the  pre- 


DEUTERONOMY  XXI.  4-8.  551 

servation  of  the  trees,  but  by  this  example  to  teach  men  a  lesson, 
and  to  prevent  useless  devastation.  Cf.  the  prohibition,  Deut. 
XXV.  4,  with  the  interpretation  of  Saint  Paul,  1  Cor.  ix.  9,  10. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Of  such  moment  was  sin  considered  to  be,  and  especially  the 
greatest  of  all  sin,  murder,  as  a  violation  of  the  Divine  order  in 
His  people,  that,  even  in  the  case  of  an  unknown  committer  of  it, 
a  certain  degree  of  guilt  was  attached  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  in  which  the  murderer  probably  dwelt,  which  guilt  must  be 
expiated.  Every  murder  must  be  compensated  for  by  the  punish- 
ment of  the  murderer.  If  that  is  not  possible,  then  must  the 
supposed  place  of  his  residence  confess  its  part  in  the  guilt ;  and 
by  the  expiatory  slaying  of  a  beast,  with  the  confession  both  of 
its  sin  and  yet  actual  innocence  in  this  particular  instance,  purify 
itself  from  the  defilement.  This  is  the  meaning  of  an  act  \^'hich 
was  not  properly  speaking  a  sacrifice,  but  a  judicial  atonement 
of  the  nature  of  a  sacrifice. 

Ver.  4.  Rough  valley. — Heb.,  "  a  continually  flowing  brook," 
in  distinction  from  a  torrent,  whi(di  only  holds  water  in  the  rainy 
season. 

Which. — "  To  (or  in)  which."  "  Nachal,"  as  now  the  Arabian 
wady,  means  a  valley  through  which  a  stream  or  brook  flows. 
By  breaking  the  neck  of  the  heifer  over  such  a  brook,  the  re- 
moval of  the  guilt  by  the  water  was  intended  to  be  signified, 
since  the  heifer  stood  in  the  place  of  the  actual  murderer,  who 
could  not  be  found.  The  heifer  was  not  to  have  been  used  and 
the  ground  not  yet  worked,  in  order  that  both,  free  from  man's 
influence,  might  be  the  more  suited  to  take  the  crime  on  them- 
selves. 

Ver.  6.  In  the  valley. — Heb.,  "  in  the  brook." 

Ver.  8.  Forgiven  them. — The  heifer  was  not,  properly  sj)eaking, 
a  sacrifice,  since  no  atonement  might  be  brouglit  for  an  inten- 
tional murder.  For  this  reason  the  heifer's  neck  was  "  struck  off" 
(or  broken).  She  is  executed  in  the  place  of  the  murderer. 
Therefore  the  elders  do  not,  in  the  name  of  the  inhabitants,  lay 


552  DEUTERONOMY  XXI.  14-22. 

their  hands  on  the  heifer  with  the  confession  of  guilt,  and  its 
blood  is  not  sprinkled  on  the  Holy  Place  ;  rather  they  declare, 
by  a  solemn  symbolical  act,  their  innocence,  and,  in  consequence, 
the  guilt,  which  objectively  clings  to  the  city,  is  removed  by 
the  symbolically  atoning  punishment. 

Ver.  14.  Humbled  her. — This  law  was  intended  to  maintain 
both  the  dignity  and  the  purity  of  marriage.  A  marriage  with 
a  heathen  was  not  to  be  unallowable ;  but  still  only  permitted  when 
she  passed  through  the  pi'obation  of  natural  grief  for  her  separa- 
tion from  her  home,  and  had  had  time  to  accustom  herself  to  the 
new  connection.  After  this  had  been  done,  the  man  might  no 
longer  treat  her  as  a  slave  of  war.  She  has  become  a  free 
woman  by  the  very  marriage  itself.  The  doctrine  of  marriage, 
as  of  a  perfect  communion  spiritual  and  bodily,  is  clear  from  this. 
Ver.  17.  First-horn  is  his. — The  case  here  supposed  had 
actually  taken  place  in  the  house  of  Jacob  (Gen.  xxix.  30). 
Yet  he  recognises  Reuben  expressly  as  his  first-born  with  the 
same  words,  "  the  beginning  of  his  strength,"  which  are  here 
used,  and  deprives  him  of  his  privilege  for  another  reason. 
Moreover,  he  gives  to  the  son  of  the  more  loved  wife  only  half 
of  the  privilege  of  the  first-born  (1  Chron.  v.  2).  Yet  it  may  be 
supposed  that  the  regulations  of  this  law,  which  appear  self-evi- 
dent, were  spoken  with  reference  to  the  possible  misunderstand- 
ing of  that  history,  and  at  the  same  time  were  designed  to  act 
as  a  necessary  limitation  to  the  paternal  authority,  which  was 
rated  so  high. 

Yer.  21.  Shall  hear  and  fear. — There  is  contained  in  this  law 
at  the  same  time  a  great  mark  of  respect  towards,  yet  a  limita- 
tion of,  the  paternal  authority.  Obstinate  disobedience,  open 
rebellion  against  parents,  may  be  avenged  in  certain  circum- 
stances even  with  the  most  severe  punishment  of  death.  But 
this  was  not  permitted,  as  was  the  case  with  some  heathen 
nations,  to  the  father  himself  to  carry  into  execution,  but  a 
judicial  sentence  of  the  elders  was  required ;  but  then  the  whole 
congregation  was  to  take  part  in  the  execution  of  the  judgment, 
in  order  that  the  abhorrence  of  this  sin  might  be  general. 

Yer.  22.  0)i  a  tree. — That  is  to  say,  after  he  had  first  been 
stoned,  or  put  to  death  in  some  other  way,  he  was  hanged  for 
greater  contumely.  So  was  Achan  burnt  after  being  stoned 
(Joshua  vii.  25)  ;  Pharaoh's  baker  was  first  beheaded  and  then 


BEUTEIIONOMY  XXI.  23;    XXII.  2-7.  5o3 

hanged  (Gen.  xl.  19)  ;  the  murderers  of  Ishboshetli  were  hanged 
after  their  death  (2  Sam.  iv.  12).  The  crucifixion  of  Kve 
criminals  was  a  Roman  punishment. 

Ver.  23.  Accursed  of  God. — Lit.,  "is  the  curse  of  the  Lord;" 
to  which  the  Apostle's  words  allude,  that  Christ  was  "  a  curse" 
for  us,  Gal.  iii.  13.  The  Son  of  God  was  subjected  to  the  ex- 
treme severity  of  the  law,  so  that  He  was  made  a  curse  for  us. 

For  an  inheritance. — Accordiuix  to  Jewish  tradition,  this  hancr- 
ing  took  place  a  little  before  sunsetting.  When  it  was  done,  the 
law  was  satisfied  and  the  criminal  was  buried  in  witness  thereof, 
while  it  would  have  defiled  the  land  for  him  to  hang  on  the  tree 
for  a  longer  time.  All  this  likewise  was  fulfilled  in  Christ  (St 
John  xix.  31,  38,  42),  in  witness  that  the  law  had  then  received 
its  perfect  accomplishment. 


CHAPTER  XXH. 

Ver.  2.  Restore  it. — An  amplification  of  the  law,  Exod.  xxiii.  4, 
where,  instead  of  "brother,"  "enemy"  stands,  which  latter  is 
comprised  in  the  term  brother,  since  a  man  does  not  cease  to  be 
a  brother  by  reason  of  personal  hostility, 

Ver.  5.  Abomination. — The  reason  of  this  prohibition  is  pri- 
marily no  other  than  that  drawn  from  the  law.  Lev.  xix.  19.  A 
violation  of  God's  creation  was  thereby  committed;  a  self-willed 
and  shameful  trifling  with  the  distinctions  which  He  had  ordained 
was  forbidden.  But,  besides  this,  among  the  heathen  many 
abominations  were  connected  with  this  forbidden  one — secret 
intercourse  of  the  sexes,  but  especially  horrible  customs  in  the 
idolatrous  worship,  which  were  intended  to  imitate  certain  natu- 
ral appearances  in  man. 

Ver.  7.  Prolong  thy  days. — A  law  enjoining  gentle  treatment 
of  animals,  and  at  the  same  time  one,  like  the  preceding,  founded 
on  reverence  for  the  sexes  which  God  created,  and  which,  by 
means  of  such  brutaHty,  might  be  violated.  It  is  plain  that  in 
this  small  example  are  portrayed  more  important  relations — 
that  in  pit}'  towards  animals  is  inculcated  mercy  towards  men, 
as  ch.  XXV.  4,  etc.      The  promise,  "  that  it  may  be  well  with 


.554  DEUTERONOMY  XXII.  8-29. 

thee,"  etc.,  is  added,  according  to  the  observation  of  tlie  Rabbins, 
to  this  least  of  all  commandments,  as  to  the  greatest,  "  Honour 
thy  father  and  thy  mother,"  etc.,  in  order  to  show  that  the  keep- 
ing of  all  the  commandments  flows  from  one  source. 

Ver.  8.  Fall  from  tlience. — The  flat  roofs  of  the  East,  on  which 
persons  were  accustomed  to  walk,  from  whence  addresses  were 
made  (nay,  where  even  to  this  day  troops  are  sometimes  exercised), 
required,  according  to  the  Rabbins,  a  battlement  of  at  least  three 
feet,  which  was  to  be  strong  enough  for  a  person  to  lean  against. 
The  reason  which  is  added  points  to  the  awfulness  of  taking 
away  man's  life,  independently  of  all  sin  in  the  matter,  on  which 
feeling  the  rule  ch.  xxi.  1,  etc.,  rests. 

Ver.  9.  Vineyard. — The  word  stands  generally  for  every  kind 
of  fruit-garden. 

Lest  the  fruit. — Tleb.:  "That  thou  dost  not  sanctify  the  fulness 
of  the  seed  which  thou  hast  sowed,  and  the  produce  of  thy  vine- 
yard ;"  i.e.,  if  thou  doest  it,  then  as  a  punishment  shall  not  only 
the  fruit  sown  by  thee,  but  the  whole  produce  of  the  garden,  be 
forfeited  to  the  sanctuary.  Cf.  for  this  and  the  following.  Lev. 
xix.  19,  note. 

Ver.  10.  An  ass  together. — The  yoking  together  of  animals  of 
different  species,  especially  a  clean  and  unclean  animal,  is  hereby 
forbidden.     Of  this,  also,  the  remark  made,  ver.  7,  holds  good. 

Ver.  19.  All  his  days. — Even  to  the  present  day  a  similar 
practice  takes  place  among  many  Eastern  nations,  only  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  Divine  law,  it  only  occurred  in  the  case  of  an 
accusation  of  this  kind. 

Ver.  21.  From  among  you. — The  punishment  of  adultery  (Lev. 
XX.  10)  is  here  extended  also  to  the  betrothed  damsel.  The  se- 
verity of  this  law,  by  which  even  an  innocent  person  might 
suffer  through  the  uncertainty  of  this  kind  of  proof,  was  probably 
softened  in  practice  in  case  of  pertinacious  denial  on  the  part  of 
the  woman,  and  was,  on  the  whole,  rather  intended  as  a  threat 
to  deter  from  the  crime. 

Ver.  27.  To  save  her. — Rape,  therefore,  is  only  then  particu- 
larly punished  when  it  is  committed  against  a  betrothed  damsel. 
The  inferior  position  of  the  woman  is  apparent  in  this  regulation, 
which  recognises  in  an  especial  manner  the  rights  of  the  man. 

Ver.  29.  All  his  days. — He  loses,  therefore,  for  ever  the  right 
of  divorce  which,  according  to  ch,  xxiv.  1,  belongs  to  him.     This 


DEUTERONOMY  XXII,  30;    XXIII.   1-7.  555 

is  therefore  the  only  punishment  attached  to  unchastity  of  the 
ordinary  kind,  together  with  that  in  eh.  xxiii.  2. 

Ver.  30.  His  father\'>   skirt. — A   short   allusion   to   the   laws 
against  incest,  declared  more  fully  Lev.  xviii. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Ver.  1 .  Congregation  of  the  Lord. — The  meaning  of  this  pro- 
hibition is  mainly  a  symbolical  one.  What  was  mature  and  per- 
fect only  was  to  be  used  for  sacrifice  ;  and  in  like  manner  no  one 
might  belong  to  the  people  of  the  Lord  on  whose  person  the 
Divine  creation  had  been  disfigured  by  man's  wilful  act.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  prohibition  is  parallel  with  that  given  Lev.  xix.  19. 
Mutilation,  which  was  so  frequent  in  the  East,  was  therefore  on 
the  Israelites  in  particular  prevented  by  this  law.  That  the 
literal,  and  so  symbolical,  meaning  of  this  law  only  held  good  in 
times  of  nonage,  is  clear  from  Isa.  Ivi.  3-6. 

Ver.  2.  A  bastard;  i.e.,  not  every  child  begotten  out  of  the 
marriage-state,  since  with  such  an  one  the  case  of  ch.  xxii.  29 
could  come  into  practice,  and  the  child  therel)y  become  legiti- 
mate, but  a  child  is  meant  begotten  in  adultery,  or  whose  father 
was  not  known. 

Tenth  generation. — The  number  "ten"  here  and  in  the  follow- 
ing verse  is  the  number  of  perfection,  and  it  signifies,  as  is  after- 
wards explained,  "shall  not  come  in  at  all;"  literally,  it  would 
be  after  about  300  years. 

Ver.  6.  Their  peace. — Cf.  St  Matt.  v.  43,  note. 

Ver.  7.  Edomite. — The  Moabites  and  Edomites  stand  in  one 
respect  equal,  ch.  ii.  29 ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  first  there  was 
added  the  heavy  sin  in  the  transaction  with  Balaam.  Moreover, 
the  possession  of  the  children  of  Lot  was  also  to  be  spared,  ch. 
ii.  19.  The  reasons  for  this  distinction  were  not  the  mere  natu- 
ral relation  of  nearer  or  more  distant  kinship  and  old  long-passed 
events;  but,  as  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  O.  T.  Avas  very  closely 
connected  and  bound  up  with  natural  relations,  and  as  the  whole 
history  of  Israel,  in  all  its  more  salient  points,  is  a  holy,  signifi- 
cant history,  therefore  the  nations  stand  in  a  nearer  or  more  dis- 


556  DEUTERONOMY  XXIII.  9-18. 

tant  connection  with  the  kingdom  of  God  according  to  tliese  re- 
lations, and  the  danger  of  intercourse  with  them  was,  in  propor- 
tion, greater  or  less.  The  people  descended  from  Abraham  over 
and  above  the  Israelites  (the  Edomites,  a  part  of  the  Arabians, 
the  Midianites)  remained  free  from  the  grosser  kinds  of  idolatry, 
while  Lot's  descendants,  from  that  impure  connection,  sank  into 
the  more  horrible  idolatrous  abominations.  And  that  which 
happened  in  such  important  epochs  of  the  sacred  history,  as,  for 
instance,  the  march  out  of  Egypt  into  the  Promised  Land  was, 
might  be  regarded  as  a  sample  of  the  whole  corrupt  disposition 
of  these  tribes. 

A  stranger  in  his  land. — It  is  worthy  of  observation  how 
hereby  the  Israelites  are  forbidden  to  requite  evil  with  evil,  and 
are  told  only  to  remember  the  good  received  in  their  sojourn  in 
Egypt. 

Ver.  9.  Goest  forth. — Heb.,  "as  a  camp  marchest  out" — as 
an  armed  host  which  breaks  up  its  camp. 

Ver.  14.  Turn  aivay  from  thee. — It  is  not  here  spoken  of  the 
camp  then  formed  in  the  wilderness,  but  of  the  camp  of  an  army 
(ver.  9).  This  was  always  to  be  regarded  as  a  holy  dwelling- 
place  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  law  of  separation  on  account  of 
sexual  uncleanness  (Lev.  xv.  16,  17)  was  to  be  applied  there, 
as  well  as  another  which  in  its  relation  to  a  natural  bodily  im- 
purity was  an  emblem  of  moral  uncleanness. 

Ver.  16.  Not  oppress  him. — Not  Israelitish,  but  heathen  ser- 
vants, are  here  spoken  of  The  people  of  Israel  were  not  at  that 
time  allowed  arbitrarily  to  make  war  upon  heathen  nations,  far 
less  to  seek  to  free  their  slaves;  but  if  a  heathen  sei'vant  took 
refuge  with  them,  seeing  so  much  sin  was  attached  to  servi- 
tude among  all  heathen  nations,  he  was  not  to  be  delivered  up, 
but  to  enjoy  the  blessing  of  a  sojourn  with  the  people  of  God. 

Ver.  17.  No  %ohore. — Heb.,  "no  devoted  woman  or  man." 
Among  the  neighbouring  Aramoean  and  Phoenician  people  there 
were  everywhere  persons  of  both  sexes  who  prostituted  them- 
selves in  the  temples  in  honour  of  the  Nature-deities — a  horrible 
abomination,  which  with  that  idolatry  often  was  practised  even  in 
Israel :   1  Kings  xiv.  24,  ch.  xv.  12,  ch.  xxii.  47;  cf.  Num.  xxv. 

Ver.  18.  Of  a  Jog. — "  Dog,"  as  the  name  of  a  very  unclean 
animal,  was  the  designation  of  men  who  prostituted  themselves 
So  perhaps,  also,  Rev.  xxii.  15. 


DEUTERONOMY  XXIII.  20-25  ;    XXIV.  4.  557 

Abomination. — This  prohibition  stood  also  in  connection  with 
the  practice  of  such  vices  to  tlie  honour  of  heathen  deities. 

Ver.  20.  To  possess  if. — Cf.  Exod.  xxii.  25,  note. 

Ver.  23.  With  thy  mouth. — Upon  vows:  cf.  Gen.  xxviii.  20, 
note. 

Ver.  25.  Pluck  the  ears. — St  Matt.  xii.  1. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Ver.  4.  For  an  inheritance. — In  the  Hebrew  these  four  verses 
form  but  one  period,  the  first  part  of  which  extends  to  the  end 
of  verse  3.  A  riglit  of  divorce  is  not  here  introduced,  but  only 
mentioned  what  was  the  custom  as  Moses  found  it.  He  let  the 
practice  continue,  and  suffered  divorce  bv  reason  of  the  hard- 
ness of  their  hearts,  while  in  the  history  of  the  creation  he  had 
taught  the  indissolubility  of  the  bond  (Gen.  ii.  24).  In  Egypt, 
where  the  art  of  writing  was  applied  at  that  time  in  so  rnanv 
matters  of  daily  life,  the  practice  of  giving  a  writing  of  divorce- 
ment might  probably  have  its  origin.  In  ver.  1,  it  is  literally, 
"  And  it  happens,  when  she  does  not  find  favour  in  his  sight,  that 
he  finds  in  her  the  shame  of  a  word  ;"  i.e.,  a  matter  of  some  kind 
or  other  which  subjects  her  to  shame.  For,  although  the  deter- 
mination on  this  point  was  altogether  in  the  husband's  hand,  yet 
something  actually  disgraceful  (objectively  sinful),  and  not  merely 
something  displeasing  to  the  husband,  must  be  supposed,  and  the 
matter  left  to  his  conscience  to  decide  on  this  being  so  or  not. 
The  only  peculiarity  in  the  regulation  now  made  is  contained  in 
ver.  4  ;  viz.,  that  a  divorced  wife  who,  after  her  divorce,  has  be- 
come the  wife  of  another  man,  might  not,  in  case  of  her  being 
again  free,  either  by  separation  or  the  death  of  the  man,  become 
a  second  time  the  wife  of  the  first  husband.  Such  an  act  is 
spoken  of  with  a  religious  horror,  no  doubt  because  the  second 
marriage  in  the  lifetime  of  the  first  husband  had  something  of 
the  character  of  adultery,  and  the  re-marrying  showed  an  in- 
difference in  respect  to  such  a  sin.  The  prophet  (Jer.  iii.  1, 
etc.)  points  out  in  a  very  remarkable  way  how  this  was  not 
applicable  to  the  relation  of  the  Lord  to  His  people. 


558  DEUTERONOMY  XXIV.  6-16;    XXT.  1-10. 

Ver.  6.  Millstone  to  pledge. — Heb,  :  "  Thou  slialt  not  take  in 
pledge  the  two  millstones,  nor  yet  the  upper  millstone."  The 
upper  millstone,  that  is  of  a  hanclmill,  without  which  it  was  not 
useable. 

Ver.  11.  Abroad  unto  thee. — The  debtor  was  to  have  the  right 
of  choosing  the  thing  which  he  will  give  in  pledge. 

Ver.  13.  Bless  thee.—Exod.  xxii.  25,  26. 

Shall  be  righteousness. — A  just  deed  in  God's  sight — a  good 
work. 

Ver.  16.  For  his  own  sin. — As  this  horrible  law  (of  putting 
the  children  to  death  for  the  sins  of  the  fathers)  existed,  e.g., 
among  the  Persians,  with  whom,  in  case  of  an  insurrection, 
whole  families  were  massacred. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Ver.  1.  Condemn  the  xoiched, — Literally,  "justify  the  just,  and 
make  the  godless  godless ;"  that  is  to  say,  by  means  of  a  judi- 
cial sentence,  which  in  the  name  of  God  has  such  power. 

Ver.  2.    Wortliy  to  be  beaten. — Lit.,  "  is  a  son  of  beating." 

Ver.  3.  Seem  vile  unto  thee. — Hence  the  addition  of  the  later 
tradition,  in  the  genuine  rabbinical  spirit,  that  the  judge  should 
only  command  thirty-nine  stripes  to  be  given,  lest  he  should  by 
miscounting  transgress  the  law :  cf.  2  Cor.  xi.  24,  note.  This 
trait  of  humanity  in  the  case  of  all  punishments  not  capital,  is 
referable  to  the  recognition  of  the  image  of  God  in  the  very 
criminal  himself. 

Ver.  4.  Treadeth  out  the  corn. — The  same  tender  consideration 
which  in  the  case  of  harvest  has  regard  to  the  poor  (ch.  xxiii. 
24,  25,  ch.  xxiv.  19-22),  is  also  to  be  extended  to  the  animals. 
To  this  day  oxen  are  used  in  the  East  for  the  treading  out  of 
the  corn  ;  and  a  muzzle  is  not  to  be  put  on  the  animal  while  toil- 
ing for  man's  benefit,  that  it  may  be  able  to  eat  some  of  the  corn  : 
cf.  1  Cor.  ix.  9,  note ;   1  Tim.  v.  18. 

Ver.  10.  His  shoe  loosed. — Upon  the  ancient  institution  of 
marriage  of  the  brother's  wife,  which  existed  long  before  Moses' 
time,  see  Gen.  xxxviii.  1.     It  is  remarkable  that  there  was  no 


DEUTERONOMY  XXV.  12-19  ;    XXVI.  559 

compulsion  exercised  in  respect  to  this  law,  but  merely  the 
punishment  of  a  disgrace  inflicted  in  case  of  refusal.  Hence 
may  be  inferred  that  the  exaggerated  importance  attached  to  it 
in  patriarchal  times  was  not  acknowledged  by  the  Divine  law  ; 
for  it  even  limits  the  ancient  custom  by  ruling  that  the  brother 
was  only  bound  to  the  marriage  when  he  and  the  deceased  had 
lived  together  in  the  same  town.  We  perceive  from  Ruth  iv.  7, 
that  to  stand  with  his  shoe  on  anything  was  regarded  as  a  sign 
of  possession  (cf.  also  Ps.  Ix.  10)  :  to  take  off  the  shoe,  and 
give  it  to  any  one,  was  a  sign  of  the  transferring  of  the  right. 
The  name  constantly  given  to  the  refusing  brother  was  therefore 
meant  to  signify  that  his  possession  was  withdrawn  from  him  in 
a  dishonouring  fashion. 

Ver.  12.  Not  pity  her. — When  a  woman  with  a  good  inten- 
tion, in  order  to  compel  another  to  let  go  his  hold,  so  violated 
modesty,  she  was  to  be  severely  punished.  Probably  this  un- 
usual case  alludes  to  some  custom  which  prevailed  among  the 
surrounding  heathen  nations. 

Ver.  15.  Just  measure. — Cf.  Lev.  xix.  35,  36. 

Ver.  19.  Not  forget  it. — This  commandment  refers  to  the  his- 
tory narrated  Exod.  xvii. ;  wherein  is  shown  how  that  powerful 
people,  then  in  the  vigour  of  their  strength,  assailed  God  Himself 
in  His  people,  and  that,  as  is  here  added,  in  a  treacherous  and 
cruel  manner.  Hence  the  Divine  curse  upon  that  people  to 
which  1  Sam.  xv.  refers. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Moses  puts  into  the  mouth  of  the  people  prayers  in  reference 
to  the  gifts  most  closely  associated  with  their  temporal  domestic 
life — the  first-fruits,  and  the  second  tithes — by  which  a  lively 
consciousness  and  recognition  of  the  entire  relation  of  Israel  to 
their  Lord  and  King  are  declared.  In  the  first-fruits  is  expressed 
their  continuous  homage,  as  regards  all  earthly  possession.  While 
each  person  acknowledged  this  by  his  act,  he  was  at  the  same 
time,  as  member  of  the  united  nation,  to  declare  on  what  gracious 
favours  of  God  this  entire  possession  rested.     The  second  tithe 


560  DEUTERONOMY  XXVI.  5-15  ;    XXVII.  3. 

was  designed  to  change  every  Israelitish  house  into  a  sanctuary, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  spread  a  holy,  joyful  feeling  of  com- 
munion among  the  whole  people,  with  which  the  continuance  of 
the  Divine  blessing  on  His  people  was  closely  connected.  Both 
prayers,  becoming  not  in  letter  but  in  spirit  a  part  of  the  people's 
customary  devotions,  would  contribute  in  no  slight  degree  to  keep 
alive  outward  worship,  and  to  sanctify  their  whole  daily  life. 

Ver.  5.  A  Syrian. — Every  Israelite  was  to  be  reminded,  on 
the  occasion  of  making  this  offering,  that  Abraham  came  out  of 
Mesopotamia  into  Canaan  without  possession  or  claim  of  any 
kind ;  as  one  who  was  nothing  in  himself,  and  had  nothing,  and 
received  all  from  God's  grace  alone.  An  image  of  the  helpless- 
ness by  nature  of  every  man. 

Ver.  12.  Be  filled. — This  tithe  was  therefore  to  be  eaten  not 
in  a  holy  place,  but  in  every  place  where  they  were,  as  a  holy 
meal,  like  a  sacrificial  feast. 

Yer.  15.  With  milk  and  honey. — On  this  occasion,  when  the 
Israelite  rejoiced  before  the  Lord  by  reason  of  the  Divine  bene- 
fits conferred,  he  was  to  feel  deeply  his  own  personal  obligations 
to  purity  and  sanctity  ;  and  also,  that  these  blessings  were  con- 
ferred on  him  in  consequence  of  God's  general  promises,  and  that 
he  partook  of  them  in  virtue  of  his  membership  in  God's  cove- 
nant-people. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

With  the  last  words  of  the  foregoing  chapter  closes  the  re- 
iteration of  the  law  in  this  book.  Thereupon  follows  the  injunc- 
tion to  engrave  the  law  on  memorial  stones,  and  to  place  these 
on  Mount  Ebal.  These,  as  well  as  the  stone  tables  in  the  ark 
of  the  covenant,  were  designed  to  bear  witness  against  the  apos- 
tasy of  the  people,  when  in  after  times  they  were  brought  to 
light  and  freed  from  their  covering. 

Ver. ,  3.  Hath  promised  thee. — The  first  question  which  arises 
is.  What  was  engraven  on  the  stones  ?  "  All  the  words  of  this 
law,"  would,  literally  taken,  mean  all  the  repetition  of  the  law 
from   ch.  v. ;  or,   at  all  events,   the   whole  lawgiving,  that  on 


DEUTERONOMY  XXVII.  4-11.  5(U 

Sinai  inclusive.  But  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  so  detailed 
a  writing  should  have  been  engraven  on  the  stones,  especially  as 
in  this  reiteration  of  the  law  so  many  long  exhortations  occur, 
which  have  not,  properly  speaking,  the  character  of  command- 
ments. And  since  these  stones,  as  a  witness  against  the  dis- 
obedience of  the  people,  were  clearly  similar  in  their  significance 
to  the  tables  of  stone  in  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  it  is  most  pro- 
bable that  the  "ten  words,"  as  they  stand  ch.  v.  6,  etc.,  are  in- 
tended. A  further  question  is.  How  was  this  inscription  made  ? 
Was  it  engraven  on  stone,  or  on  the  plaister  laid  on  it  ?  The 
first  is  clearly  the  most  likely,  since  the  purpose  of  the  plaister 
evidently  was  to  preserve  the  inscription  from  injury  by  weather. 
Such  a  mode  of  proceeding  in  respect  to  inscripticms  on  stone 
was  usual  in  ancient  times.  This  imperishable  witness  against 
the  sins  of  the  people  was  to  stand  on  the  mountain  from  whence 
afterwards  the  cursings  were  uttei'ed.  The  mountain,  seen  firom 
afar,  was  itself  a  memento  ;  but  yet  much  more  when,  in  a  time 
of  general  disorder  and  disobedience  against  God,  the  stones 
themselves  were  brought  forth  and  freed  from  their  covering, 
and  the  witness  of  the  Divine  Lawgiver  testified  against  the 
people  ! 

Ver.  4.  Mount  Ehal. — The  text  here  was  very  early  falsified 
by  the  Samaritans,  and  "  Gerizim  "  was  put  instead  of  "  Ebal." 
For  since,  in  obedience  to  a  subsequent  command,  the  blessings 
were  spoken  from  thence,  they  wished  to  make  out  that  here  the 
stones  were  set  up,  and  the  altar  (ver.  5)  built;  in  which  latter 
act  they  found  a  justification  of  their  erection  of  a  temple  on  the 
same  mountain. 

Ver.  5.  Iron  tool. — According  to  the  general  injunction,  Exod. 
XX.  25. 

Ver.  7.  Rejoice. — The  stones  of  the  law  were  intended  to  be  a 
I'eiteration  of  the  original  making  of  the  Divine  covenant  with 
tlie  people,  and  therefore,  as  a  conclusion  of  the  bond,  burnt- 
ofi'erings  and  thank-ofterings  were  to  follow,  as  Exod.  xxiv.  5. 
Mention  is  expressly  made  of  the  sacrificial  meal  which  followed 
tlie  thank-oiferings  (cf.  Exod.  xxiv,  11)  as  a  part  of  the  rejoicing, 
by  reason  of  the  renewal  of  communion  with  the  Lord. 

Ver.  11.  Moses  charged. — A  blessing  and  a  curse,  solemnly 
uttered,  follow  on  the  renewal  of  the  covenant.  Six  tribes  are 
appointed  to  stand  on  each  of  the  mountains  which  rise  precipi- 

2n 


562  DEUTERONOMY  XXVII.  26  ;    XXVIII. 

tously  out  of  the  valley  of  Sicliem  (now  Nablus),  viz.,  Ebal  and 
Gerizim.  Between  the  two  stood  "  the  Levites,"  i.  e.,  in  this 
place  the  priests ;  since,  ver.  12,  the  tribe  of  Levi  stands  among 
the  other  tribes.  Here,  where  the  point  at  issue  was  not  the  divi- 
sion of  the  land,  but  the  personal  position  of  the  tribes  to  the  Lord, 
Levi  is  reckoned  among  the  twelve,  and  Joseph  stands  as  one  tribe. 
The  blessings  are  not  communicated  to  us — they  are  not  written 
in  this  book  of  the  law,  as  the  law  still  remains  true  to  its  pre- 
vailincr  character — to  forbid,  and  to  declare  the  curse  consequent 
on  disobedience.  The  curses  bring  forward  certain  main  points 
of  the  law  which  comprehend  tlie  whole  contents  thereof.  On 
the  curse  for  secret  idolatry  follows  that  against  the  transgressors 
of  the  reverence  due  to  God's  representatives,  against  those 
guilty  of  oppression,  of  cruelty  towards  the  helpless,  of  incest,  of 
secret  murder.  Such  crimes  are  mentioned  as  might  escape  the 
eyes  even  of  a  watchful  judicature,  in  order  to  declare  that  God 
at  all  events  will  find  out  such  sinners,  and  to  impress  on  the 
hypocrite  a  horror  of  the  works  of  darkness.  In  the  last  curse 
all  the  rest  are  included.  The  number  of  the  curses  is  twelve, 
in  reference,  no  doubt,  to  the  number  of  the  tribes,  yet  without 
each  curse  referring  to  each  tribe. 

Ver.  26.  To  do  them. — In  this  last  declaration,  which  is  a 
summary  of  all  that  has  gone  before,  the  office  of  the  law  is 
expressly  shown  to  be  that  of  condemnation.  This  sentence 
proves  clearly  that  the  preceding  separate  curses  were  only 
uttered  in  order,  by  particular  examples,  to  represent  in  a  more 
vivid  manner  the  nature  of  all  transgressions.  Each  single 
wilful  transgression  of  the  law,  therefore  (this  is  the  meaning  of 
this  solemn  declaration),  subjects  the  sinner  to  the  curse  of  God, 
from  which  He  alone  can  free  us  who  has  been  made  a  curse 
for  us.    Thus  is  this  passage  applied  by  St  Paul,  Gal.  iii.  10,  13. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

This  chapter  is  a  further  declaration  and  explanation  of  that 
which  the  tribes  were  to  proclaim  on  the  two  mountains.  The 
promises  and  the  threatenings  pronounce  a  blessing  and  a  curse 


DEUTERONOMY  XXVIII.  5-68.  563 

on  the  smallest  relations  of  life.  Every  blessing  was  to  be  re- 
garded by  the  Israelite  as  a  gift  of  Divine  Providence, — every 
misfortune  as  His  punishment.  This  is  the  main  drift ;  but  it 
would  be  a  perversion  of  its  meaning  to  look  for  the  literal  fulfil- 
ment of  each  particular  in  every  case. 

Ver.  5.  Thy  store. — Heb.,  "  thy  kneading-trough,"  in  which 
the  meal  was  made  ready  for  baking,  and  leavened. 

Ver.  7.  Seven  ivays. — Shall  flee  before  thee  in  wild  flight  on 
all  sides. 

Ver.  9.  A  holy  people. — A  people  set  apart  for  Himself. 

Ver.  22.  Mildew. — The  first  four  plagues  are  sicknesses  be- 
falling man,  the  three  last  affect  the  seeds  of  the  earth.  "  Burn- 
ing" may  mean  the  hot  wind — the  simoom,  which  burns  up  the 
plants  (cf.  Gen.  xli.  6,  Heb.),  or  even  an  internal  burning. 
The  "  mildew"  is  also  a  disease  of  the  corn,  which  withers  and 
dries  it  up. 

Ver.  52.  Hath  given  thee. — After  this  the  plagues  especially 
of  a  besieged  town  are  described.  Cf.  the  words  of  Christ, 
which  refer  to  this  description. 

Ver.  67.  Shalt  see. — The  misery  which  is  here  described  in 
such  powerful,  fearful  images,  has  at  all  times  visited  Israel  in 
his  banishment.  There  have  been  many  exceptions  indeed,  as 
during  the  Babylonish  captivity ;  but  all  these  passed  away,  and 
were  succeeded  by  times  in  which  many  of  the  features  here 
portrayed  were  actually  realised.  Every  Israelite,  so  long  as  he 
remains  faithful  to  his  law  and  to  his  traditions,  feels  himself 
miserable  among  the  people  of  the  earth. 

Ver.  Q^.  Shall  buy  you. — Or  perhaps  more  correctly,  "  And 
there  shall  be  no  one  to  buy  you  free ;"  though  certainly  the 
other  would  express  a  deeper  degree  of  contempt :  "  If  ye  shall 
desire  to  sell  yourselves  into  slavery,  there  shall  be  no  one 
willing  to  have  you."  In  a  certain  sense,  this  was  literally 
fulfilled  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  when  multitudes  of 
Jews  were  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts  because  no  buyers  of  so 
many  slaves  could  be  found.  This,  however,  is,  like  many 
similar  sayings  in  the  prophets,  not  to  be  taken  literally,  but  in 
the  sense,  that  Israel  would  return  again  into  the  same  condi- 
tion from  which  it  had  been  delivered. — "  This  chapter  is  both 
the  longest  and  also  the  easiest,  since  it  contains  nothing  but  a 
heap  of  blessings  and  curses,  and  so  is  an  expansion  of  the  pre- 


564  DEUTERONOMY  XXIX.  3-li». 

ceding.  There  is  nothing  which  we  have  to  interpret  in  the 
case  of  this  history,  more  than  merely  to  say,  w-e  ought  to  con- 
sider and  lay  to  heart  how  terrible  it  is  to  be  under  the  law."' — 
Luther. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  covenant  which  the  Lord  had  made  with  Israel  in  Horeb, 
is  now  here  solemnly  renewed  or  confirmed ;  and  thereby  the 
new  generation,  now  about  to  enter  Canaan,  placed  altogether  in 
a  similar  position  with  the  old,  to  whom  that  duty  had  first  been 
committed.  But  inasmuch  as  the  words  of  Moses  refer  entirely 
to  the  covenant  already  made,  there  is  no  need  of  any  further 
sacrifices,  or  of  any  renewal  of  promises  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  but  only  a  solemn  confirmation  of  the  Lord's  blessing  on 
the  obedient,  and  His  curse  on  the  disobedient. 

Ver.  3.  Those  great  miracles. — As  among  that  generation  none, 
with  the  exception  of  Joshua  and  Caleb,  had  seen  the  events 
in  the  passage  out  of  Egypt,  we  perceive  from  these  words  how 
the  people  of  the  past  and  present  are  treated  as  one,  and  how 
they  are  made  responsible  both  for  the  sins  and  the  covenanted 
promises  of  their  fathers. 

Ver.  4.  To  hear. — An  understanding  heart,  seeing  eyes,  hear- 
ing ears,  are  the  gifts  of  the  Lord  :  they  are  His  gifts  of  grace, 
though  man  is  not  excused  for  his  sins  if  he  has  them  not. 

Ver.  5.  Thy  foot. — Cf.  ch.  viii.  4,  note. 

Ver.  6.  77ie  Lord  thy  God. — Who  can  maintain  and  support 
you,  even  without  the  ordinary  means  of  nourishment :  cf.  ch. 
viii.  3. 

Ver.  11.  Drawer  of  thy  icater. — All,  down  to  the  meanest : 
cf.  Joshua  xi.  21,  27. 

Ver.  15.  Not  here  this  day. — The  future  generations. 

Ver.  18.  Gall  and  wormwood. — Heb.,  "  poison  and  worm- 
wood."    Cf.  Heb.  xii.  15. 

Ver.  19.  To  thirst. — The  last  words,  which  seem  like  a  pro- 
verbial mode  of  speaking  and  are  somewhat  obscure,  mean, 
literally,  "  in  order  that  he  may  take  away"  (or,  "  that  the 
watered  may  be  taken  away")    "  with  the  thirsty ;"    and   the 


DEUTERONOMY  XXIX.  23,  '29  ;    XXX.  3.  565 

words  "earth,"  or  "land,"  seem  necessary  to  be  supplied.  When 
any  one  therefore  speaks  thus  in  his  heart,  the  immediate  con- 
sequence is,  that  the  Lord  must  lay  waste  the  blessed,  richly- 
watered  land,  like  the  barren. — The  word  in  the  Heb.  (sephoth) 
which  is  rendered  in  our  veusion  "  to  add,"  signifies  also,  "  to 
destroy,  take  away  ;"  and  the  meaning  of  the  expression  may 
be,  that  this  supposed  wicked  person  boasts  that  the  drunken 
will  put  away  the  sober,  i.e.,  that  careless,  godless  living  will 
abolish  conscientious  scruples. 

Ver.  23.  In  His  wrath. — With  brimstone  which  fell  from  heaven 
the  land  was  burnt  up,  and  salt  came  in  the  stead  of  the  fruit- 
ful land  when  the  beautiful  region  of  the  Jordan  was  destroyed. 
So  shall  Canaan  be  destroyed  on  account  of  the  apostasy  of  the 
people.  From  this  example  we  may  clearly  gather  the  meaning 
of  all  these  curses  ;  since,  just  as  at  that  time  the  Promised  Land 
is  contrasted  with  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Dead  Sea,  so  is  the 
present  state  of  Palestine  in  striking  contrast  with  its  ancient 
fruitfulness.     This  curse  has  been  fulfilled  to  the  utmost. 

Ver.  29.  To  our  children  for  ever. — We  are  not  to  search  after 
God's  secret  will  and  counsel.  He  has  given  us  His  law  that 
we  should  do  it ;  this  is  the  province  of  duty  apportioned  us.  In 
the  knowledge  of  that  which  God  has  revealed,  and  in  obedience 
to  His  will,  lies  the  way  to  communion  with  God  ;  but  there  is  no 
knowledge  of  Him  here  on  earth  so  close  and  entire,  but  that 
mvsteries  and  secret  things  will  still  continue. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Ver.  3.  lam  thy  captivity. — Heb.,  "  So  will  the  Lord  return 
to  thy  cai)tivity."  Literally  the  passage  is,  "  When  all  these 
words  come  upon  thee,  the  blessing  and  the  curse,  and  thou  re- 
turnest  to  the  Lord  thy  God,  then  the  Lord  thy  God  returns  to 
thy  captivity  and  has  compassion  on  thee,  and  turns  back  and 
gathers  thee  out  of  all  nations."  The  expression,  "  the  Lord  re- 
turns to  the  captivity  of  His  people"  (which  from  early  times 
have  been  incorrectly  translated  "  He  turns  the  captivity,"  or 


566  DEUTERONOMY  XXX.  5. 

"  He  brings  back  the  captivitv")?  occurs  afterwards  in  abiiost  all 
the  writings  of  the  O.  T.  which  are  parallel  with  this  passage, 
— often  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  people  scattered  among  the 
heathen  (so,  e.g.,  Jer.  xxx.  3  ;  Amos  ix.  14), — often  generally 
of  the  visitation  of  grace  after  terrible  punishments  (so,  e.g., 
Ps.  xiv.  7 ;  Job  xlii.  10 ;  Ezek.  xvi.  53).  In  the  passage  be- 
fore us  the  explanation  is  clear  and  simple  from  the  context. 
When  Israel  in  his  banishment  brings  back  the  word  of  the 
Lord  to  his  heart,  and  thus  returns  to  the  Lord,  then  the  Lord 
returns  to  His  mercy,  i.e.,  to  His  people  languishing  in  trouble ; 
and  this  return  is  shown  by  His  collecting  them  again. 

Ver.  5.  Above  thy  fathers. — This  is  the  first  of  the  many  pro- 
phecies which  represents  the  restoration  of  the  people  of  Israel 
as  a  return  unto  their  land,  while  Lev.  xxvi.  45  only  speaks 
of  the  continuance  of  the  covenant.  But  it  by  no  means  follows, 
that  because  their  expulsion  from  their  land  is  to  be  understood 
literally,  therefore  the  return  must  be  taken  literally  likewise. 
Rather,  it  is  an  essential  characteristic  of  the  whole  work  of  re- 
demption, that  it  not  merely  restores  what  was  forfeited,  but 
gives  in  its  place  something  higher  and  more  glorious.  The 
redemption  through  Christ  does  not  put  man  in  the  position  of 
Adam's  innocence,  and  reinstate  him  in  paradise,  but  the  earthly 
paradise  is  a  type  of  the  heavenly  (St.  Luke  xxiii.  44),  to  which 
Christ  admits  His  redeemed.  He  who  for  Christ's  sake  leaves 
all  that  he  has,  does  not  receive  a  literal,  but  a  far  more  glorious 
compensation,  in  this  world ;  and  so  the  restitution  of  earthly 
losses  is  a  type  of  the  reward  of  believers  (cf.  St  Matt.  xix.  29, 
note).  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  but  not  to  the  same  life  which  He  had  till  then  lived  in 
the  flesh.  Just  as  little  were  the  promises  of  seeing  Christ  again 
(St  John  xiv.  19,  xvi.  16)  fulfilled  in  what  took  place  after  the 
resurrection  ;  and  in  like  manner  this  and  similar  predictions  were 
not  fulfilled  in  Israel's  return  after  the  Babylonish  captivity.  A 
literal  restoration  of  the  people  of  Israel  would  have  renewed  the 
old  mode  of  life  with  all  its  deficiencies,  and  would  have  been  of 
no  moment  to  the  kingdom  of  God  under  the  New  Covenant. 
St  Paul  explains  the  true  sense  of  this  prophecy  (Rom.  xi.), 
and  refers  its  fulfilment  partly  to  the  going  forth  of  the  elect  into 
the  new  Church,  partly  to  the  conversion  of  the  whole  people 
still  to  come,  which  shall  pour  fresh  life  into  the  whole  kingdom 


DEUTERONOMY  XXX.  G,  13  ;    XXXI.  3,  11.  567 

of  God  on  earth,  the  precursor  of  their  entrance  into  the  heavenly 
Canaan. 

Ver.  6.  Mayest  live. — The  meaning  of  circumcision  as  a  put- 
ting away  of  natural  uncleanness,  is  here  applied  to  the  heart: 
cf.  Gen.  xvii.  13,  note. 

Ver.  13.  And  do  it. — The  word  which  commands  and  the  deed 
which  fulfils  it  are  taken  together  in  these  expressions.  To 
understand  the  word  and  to  fulfil  it,  requires  no  exertion  beyond 
the  limits  of  man's  power  (incapability  of  doing  good  is  not  a 
physical  but  a  moral  feebleness — a  feebleness  of  the  will) ;  and 
as  a  word  from  God,  a  revelation  of  His  grace,  it  brings  with  it 
the  power  of  fulfilment.  The  law  which  commands  is  not  in 
this  passage  severed  from  the  word  of  the  covenant  which  pro- 
mises grace ;  and  so  St  Paul  makes  such  noble  use  of  the  pas- 
sage in  his  discussion  on  justification,  Rom.  x.  6,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Closes'  office  is  now  at  an  end.  The  whole  law  concludes 
with  the  last  solemn  declaration  of  the  choice  laid  before  the 
people,  of  life  and  death.  INIoses'  sayings  are  concluded.  He 
withdraws,  and  writes  down  all  the  repetitions  of  the  law  and 
the  additions  to  it,  which  he  had  made  in  this  book.  But,  besides 
this,  he  is  commanded  to  compose  and  write  down  a  song  as 
God's  witness  ;  and  this  last  command  gave  him  the  opportunity 
of  inserting  in  his  work  his  own  testimony,  that  he  wrote  down 
the  whole  law  in  the  book  so  often  mentioned  in  this  history. 

Ver.  3.  .4  s  the  Lord  hath  said. — It  is  promised  in  the  same 
expressions  that  the  Lord  and  that  Joshua  shall  go  before  the 
people — no  doubt,  because,  in  the  significant,  triumphant  name 
of  Joshua,  and  in  his  Divine  appointment  to  his  office,  was  given 
the  pledge  that  the  Lord  Himself  would  lead  His  people  :  Num. 
xiii.  17,  note. 

Ver.  IL  In  their  hearing. — According  to  Jewish  tradition,  by 
"  this  law  "  was  meant  the  reiteration  of  it  in  this  book  of  Deu- 
teronomy. .Toshua  complied  with  this  conunand,  and  in  after- 
times  the  king  recited  the  law  in  the  court  of  the  temple.     It  is 


568  DEUTERONOMY  XXXI.  lG-26  ;    XXXII. 

certainly  very  improbable  that  the  whole  five  books  of  Moses 
were  read,  while  the  character  of  this  fifth  book  makes  it  peculi- 
arly suitable  for  the  purpose  of  being  rehearsed  in  the  ears  of 
the  people. 

Ver.  16.  Sleep  with  thy  fathers. — Cf.  Num.  xx.  24,  note. 

Ver.  19.  Teach  it. — The  command  applied  to  Moses  and  to 
Joshua.  With  the  writing  of  all  the  preceding  as  far  as  ch. 
XXX.,  or,  what  is  more  likely,  of  this  chap,  also,  the  part  of 
Moses  terminated,  and  Joshua  wrote  down  the  rest  of  this  book 
at  Moses'  request. 

Ver.  22.  This  song. — Because  this  song,  as  a  witness  to  future 
generations,  was  of  great  moment,  it  would  seem  as  though 
Moses  first  wrote  it  out,  and  then  solemnly  sang  it  in  the  ears  of 
the  children  of  Israel  (ch.  xxxii.  44), — a  precedent  for  many  of 
the  predictions  of  the  prophets,  which  we  must  suppose  to  have 
been  published  in  the  same  manner. 

Ver.  26.  In  the  side. — By  the  side  of  the  ark.  In  the  ark 
itself  were  only  the  two  tables  with  the  ten  commandments. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Moses  concludes  his  mission  to  the  ancient  covenant-people 
with  two  songs,  replete  with  the  highest  prophetic  inspiration. 
The  hymn, — soaring  aloft,  full  of  deep  views  of  the  future  and 
the  present;  composed  in  a  curt,  compressed,  yet  highly  meta- 
phorical style  ;  pungent,  keen,  piercing,  at  the  same  time  abound- 
ing in  holy  earnestness  ;  a  witness  against  the  disobedience  of 
the  people,  a  lauding  of  the  God  of  covenant, — gives  us  once 
more  a  brief  sketch  of  the  whole  life  and  doings  of  the  great  man 
of  God,  who  especially  had  the  office  assigned  him  to  announce 
condemnation.  After  the  introduction  he  begins  with  the  praise 
of  the  unalterably  holy,  faithful  God  of  the  covenant  (vers.  3,  4), 
who  had  shown  to  His  unthankful  people  such  an  abundance  of 
blessings  (vers.  5-14).  In  spirit  he  beholds  Israel  puffed  up 
with  this  abundance,  become  arrogant,  disobedient  (vers.  16-18). 
The  anger  of  the  Lord  is  kindled  ;  His  judgments  overtake  them  ; 
He  turns  His   covenant  of  grace  to  the  heathen  (vers.  19-35). 


DEUTERONOMY   XXXII.   1-5.  5()9 

But  these  judgments  of  the  Lord  sift  His  people.  Among 
Israel  itself,  the  people  of  God  are  separated  from  His  enemies. 
His  servants,  on  whom  He  has  mercy,  celebrate  at  last  a  triumph 
together  with  the  heathen,  and,  freed  from  their  oppressors,  again 
rejoice  in  the  favour  of  God.  With  this  simple  line  of  thought, 
this  song  is  the  foundation  of  all  after-prophecies,  in  which  we 
find  the  same  range  of  ideas,  because  in  fact  they  represent  the 
histoiy  of  the  ancient  covenant  of  God.  Although,  then,  the 
greater  part  of  the  song  is  a  stern  threatening,  a  solemn  decla- 
ration of  condemnation,  yet  we  may  understand  from  the  main 
idea  and  end  of  the  whole,  viz.,  the  glorifying  of  the  grace 
and  truth  of  the  eternal,  faithful  covenant-God,  how  these  His 
words  could  appear  in  the  eyes  of  Moses  under  the  image,  so 
especially  delectable  in  the  wilderness,  of  a  rain  trickling  down 
on  the  tender  grass.  We  here  see  the  man  of  God  with  the 
awful  brightness  of  the  Divine  holiness  on  his  countenance,  in 
whom  the  glory  of  the  Lord  was  mirrored  with  unveiled  face, 
and  who  is  thereby  glorified  into  the  same  image  (2  Cor.  iii. 
18).  Refreshed  and  strengthened  by  His  grace,  he  is  still  more 
firmly  built  upon  the  rock  of  his  salvation. 

Ver.  1.  The  words  of  my  mouth. — As  Moses  before  had  called 
heaven  and  earth  to  witness,  and  as,  after  him,  the  other  prophets 
do  the  same  (Isa.  i.  3;  Jer.  xi.  12 ;  Micah  vi.  1,  2),  so  does  he 
begin  here,  in  the  consciousness  of  being  enlightened  and  inspired 
by  God,  with  the  address  to  all  His  creatures.  It  is  a  moment 
of  great  importance  to  the  whole  of  creation.  Heaven  and  earth 
shall  be  witnesses  of  the  guilt  of  the  people,  and,  w^hen  they  go 
wrong,  shall  be  their  accusers. 

Ver.  2.  Upon  the  grass. — This  image,  in  the  East  especially, 
includes  all  that  is  refreshing  and  strenetheninc-  The  riches 
and  fulness  expressed  thereby  can  only  be  the  fulness  of  victory. 
In  this  it  is  signified,  how  even  the  most  severe  chastisement  of 
the  law  works  life  and  strength  to  the  true  servant  of  the  God 
of  covenant,  because  he  is  conscious  of  the  grace  of  his  God,  who 
supports  him  even  in  His  judgments,  and  by  means  of  them  frees 
him  from  his  enemies  within  and  without. 

Ver.  5.  Of  His  children. — Lit.:  "  He  has  corrupted  (his  ways) 
to  Him;  they,  not  His  children,  their  (own)  spot  of  shame;  the 
perverse  and  deceitful  (entwined  in  themselves)  generation.'" 
God  has  revealed  His  truth  and  grace  to  the  people ;  all  means 


570  DEUTERONOMY  XXXII.  6-10. 

of  grace  and  holiness  are  offered  tliem  :  if  they  now  perish  before 
Him,  that  is  the  fault  of  their  own  perverseness.  The  first  word, 
'•*  perverse,"  means  a  wandering  from  the  way ;  the  second, 
"  crafty,"  means  one  who,  as  he  cannot  go  the  right  way,  finds 
out  for  himself  wrong  ways. 

Ver.  6.  Established  thee ;  i.e.,  "  Is  He  not  thy  Father,  who  has 
prepared  thee?  is  it  not  He  who  has  made  and  settled  thee?" — 
established,  arranged.  The  name  of  father  is  more  fully  explained 
by  these  three  words,  "  prepared,  made,  established."  The  first 
expresses  the  general  creation ;  the  second,  the  further  bringing 
up  and  forming ;  the  third,  the  maintaining  and  preserving. 
The  people  are  here  spoken  of  as  a  whole.  God's  name  as 
Father  stands  here  more  particularly  in  the  sense  of  producer, 
as  the  epithets  show.  But  even  in  this  degree  of  the  revelation 
of  Himself  there  is  much  more  contained  than  in  the  heathen 
expression,  "Father  of  gods  and  men,"  since  the  relation  to  God 
the  Father  is  altogether  a  moi'al  relation,  and  the  paternal  autho- 
rity in  the  Mosaic  law  derives  its  sanctity  from  God.  It  is  the 
holy,  tender  Father  who  pitieth  His  children,  that  is  here  set 
before  the  eyes  of  His  people  (ver.  11 ;  Ps.  ciii.  13). 

Ver.  8.  Of  the  children  of  Iso^ael. — The  care  of  God  for  His 
people  did  not  begin  with  Abraham  and  Jacob,  but  on  the  first 
division  of  the  earth  after  the  flood.  Then  were  the  boundaries 
of  the  nations  placed  with  reference  to  the  number,  of  Israel, — to 
the  greatness  of  the  people,  and  its  subsequent  importance  in  the 
history  of  the  world  and  the  kingdom  of  God.  A  proof  of  this 
care,  which  began  in  those  early  times,  and  to  which  the  words 
of  Moses  point,  is  Noah's  prophecy  (Gen.  ix.  25),  in  which 
Canaan's  future  subjection,  as  well  as  Japhet's  dependence  on 
Shem,  are  predicted.  This  is  the  high  honour  of  the  election  of 
Israel  to  be  God's  people  (which  is  now  transferred  to  the  spi- 
ritual Israel),  that  the  history  of  all  other  nations  is  viewed  in 
distinct  reference  to  theirs ;  all  exist  for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom 
of  God,  as  Gen.  xii.  3,  and  Acts  xvii.  26,  27  express  it. 

Ver.  9.  Lot  of  His  inheritance. — Because  the  divisions  of  the 
earth  are  marked  out  as  with  a  line :  Ps.  xvi.  6,  cf.  Exod.  xix.  5. 
Ver.  10.  -4s  the  apple  of  His  eye. — Moses  begins  the  subject  of 
Israel's  election  and  merciful  guidance  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
with  the  finding  of  the  ]:)eople  in  the  desert.  The  reason  that 
the  wilderness  and  not  the  exodus  from  Fgypt  is  selected  as  the 


DEUTEIlONOMY  XXXII.  12,  14.  571 

point  from  wliicli  to  commence,  is  because  the  former  offers  a 
more  lively  contrast  than  the  latter  to  the  fulness  of  blessing  in 
the  Promised  Land,  which  is  afterwards  described.  Israel,  freed 
from  his  bondacre  and  become  an  independent  people,  begins  its 
course  without  any  help  or  protection  in  the  wilderness.  There 
the  Lord  finds  it  as  a  wandering  sheep  in  the  desert,  full  of 
howling  wild  beasts.  He  undertakes  its  guidance,  gives  it  by 
means  of  the  law  a  regular  constitution,  and  takes  it  under  His 
care  as  the  apple  of  an  eye.  Cf.  Ps.  xvii.  8  ;  Zech.  xi.  8.  This 
latter  expression  especially  refers  to  the  protection  afforded  the 
unwarlike,  defenceless  people  against  the  Amalekites  (Exod. 
xvii.  8,  etc.)  and  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  w^ilderness. 

Ver.  12.  A"o  strange  god  rvith  Him, — The  words  of  ver.  11  are 
most  correctly  regarded  as  the  antecedent  member  of  the  sen- 
tence, and  ver.  12  as  the  answering  portion.  The  passage  is 
differently  interpreted; — most  closely  thus  :  "As  the  eagle  warms 
his  nest,  broods  over  his  young,  spreads  out  his  wings  and  takes 
them,  bears  them  up  in  his  soaring ;  even  so  the  Lord  alone,  etc." 
Two  different  acts  of  tlie  eagle  are  described  :  in  the  first  two 
sentences,  his  warming,  nourishing,  and  protecting  care,  when 
he  spreads  his  wings  over  the  nest ;  in  the  last  two,  his  care 
w^hen  he  takes  the  young  abroad,  teaches  them  to  fly,  and  guards 
them  against  every  mischance.  The  words,  "  spreads  himself 
over  his  young,"  are  the  same  as  those  used.  Gen.  i.  2,  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  which  brooded  over  the  water.  It  expresses  the 
communication  of  life-imparting  heat.  That  the  eagle,  in  case  of 
danger,  and  when  he  teaches  his  young  to  fly,  makes  them  sit  on 
his  back  or  on  his  powerful  wings,  is  well-proved,  and  alluded  to 
also,  Uxod.  xix.  4.  The  first  part  of  the  figure  refers  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  still  weak,  helpless  people  which  was  afforded  to  it 
by  the  cloudy  pillar,  which  covered  and  guided  it ;  the  second 
part,  to  the  awakening  and  strengthening  of  the  people  in  the 
wilderness,  until  it  attained  some  degree  of  self-reliance  and  de- 
pendence on  God's  care  amid  the  dangers  and  privations  of  the 
desert.  That  "  He  alone  "  did  it,  Avas  meant  to  remind  the  un- 
thankful people  that  God's  help  had  always  been  found  all-suffi- 
cient, and  every  trial  of  the  strange  help  of  self-made  gods  always 
frauo;ht  with  mischief.  The  Ano;el  who  went  before  them  was 
God  Himself:  Exod.  iii.  2,  etc.,  ch.  xix,  18,  ch.  xx.  2. 

Ver.  14.  Blood  of  the  grape. — The  whole  description  translates 


572  DEUTERONOMY  XXXII.  15. 

US  now  from  the  wilderness  into  the  riches  of  the  Promised  Land. 
Moses  beholds  the  future  as  present — Israel  in  the  fullest  enjoy- 
ment of  good  things.  "  He  made  him  go  over  the  high  places 
of  the  earth,"  i.e.,  take  possession  of  the  highest  mountain  regions 
of  Canaan.  "  Honey"  is  the  so-called  wild  honey — a  juice  which 
is  distilled  from  many  trees  (1  Sam.  xiv.  26,  27  ;  St  Matt.  iii. 
4).  That  this  should  come  of  itself  out  of  the  rocks,  oil  from 
the  hard  stones,  shows  the  fruitfulness  of  the  land  which  pro- 
duces trees  even  on  the  rocky  heights.  Cf.  the  passage  taken 
from  this  description,  Ps.  Ixxxi.  17.  The  rest  means,  literally, 
"  Thick  milk  from  cows  (the  Orientals  do  not  like  butter,  and 
only  use  it  for  medicinal  purposes)  ;  and  milk  from  the  sheep, 
with  the  fat  of  lambs  and  of  rams,  the  children  of  Basan  and  of 
goats,  and  with  the  kidney  fat  of  wheat :  and  thou  makest  them 
drink  of  the  blood  of  grapes  as  pure  wine."  In  the  description 
of  the  gifts  we  must  supply,  "  He  gave  them,"  from  the  pre- 
ceding verse.  Basan  is  the  rich  pasture  country  of  the  east  of 
Jordan,  which  had  been  lately  taken  from  Og  the  king,  and 
which,  because  suitable  to  cattle,  had  been  chosen  by  the  Reu- 
benites,  Gadites,  and  half-tribe  of  Manasseh  (Num.  xxxii.  1-4) ; 
and  even  to  this  day  is  distinguished  by  its  beautiful  wood  and 
rich  grass  lands."  The  bold  expression,  "  kidney  fat  of  wheat," 
represents  the  peculiar  beauty  of  this  grain,  since  the  kidney 
is  regarded  as  the  best  fat  (Lev.  iii.  4,  10).  Of  course,  the 
eating  of  the  fat  is  not  to  be  taken  literally,  as  that  would  con- 
tradict Lev.  iii.  17,  but  is  to  be  understood  of  the  eating  of  fat 
cattle. 

Ver.  15.  Art  grown  thick. — With  these  words  Moses  again 
returns  more  in  detail  to  the  rebukes  which  he  had  begun,  ver. 
5.  Jeshurun  is  only  a  somewhat  unusual  appellation  of  the 
people  of  Israel  from  "  Jaschar,"  upright,  righteous.  As  it  is 
said,  ver.  4,  of  God,  that  He  is  "  Jaschar,"  righteous,  so  does 
the  name  imply  that  His  people  are  meant  to  be  as  He  is.  This 
Balaam,  in  prophetic  spirit,  acknowledged  them  to  be  (Num.  xxiii. 
21).  Israel  is  the  righteous,  holy  nation.  Moses  clearly  uses 
this  name  here  purposely,  when  the  reality  stood  in  such  sad 
contrast  with  the  character  of  the  people.  Cf.  ch.  xxxiii.  5,  26  ; 
Isa.  xliv.  2.  Israel's  pride  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings 
of  Canaan,  and  his  apostasy  resulting  therefrom,  are  here  most 
graphically  described  as  belonging  to  the  past. 


DEUTERONOMY  XXXd.  16-2G.  573 

Ver.  IG.  To  anger. — The  jealousy  of  Israel's  Husband  is  ex- 
cited by  its  adulterous  intercourse  with  strange  gods. 

Ver.  17.  Unto  devils. — Heb.,  "  to  the  Schedim  ;"  i.e.,  the  bad 
s])irits  (from  Schad,  Schadad,  to  waste,  destroy).  Except  here, 
this  name  occurs  only  Ps.  cvi.  For  the  word  "  devils,"  see  Lev. 
xvii.  7,  note.  How  far  idolatry  is  a  service  of  evil  spirits,  see 
1  Cor.  X.  19,  20,  note. 

Came  neivli/  up. — Heb.,  "  which  came  from  near  ;"  i.e.,  to  the 
worship  vvhich  they  received  from  the  neighbouring  nations,  the 
ISIoabites  and  Ammonites,  afterwards  more  especially  from  the 
Canaanites  in  Phoenicia. 

Ver.  19.  His  daughters. — Heb. :  "  He  was  displeased  with 
anger  upon  His  sons  and  His  daughters."  Here  begins  the 
denunciation  of  the  judgments  upon  God's  disobedient  people. 

Ver.  20.  No  faith.— hh.:  "Since  they  are  a  generation  of 
perversities  (a  lying,  deceitful  generation),  sons  no  true  (firm, 
trustworthy)  among  them." 

Ver.  21.  With  a  foolish  nation. — A  very  remarkable  predic- 
tion, the  foundation  of  a  number  of  those  which  follow.  It  is 
here  declared  that  God  will  cast  off  Israel  after  the  flesh,  and 
choose  in  his  stead  the  heathen  to  be  His  people,  as  St  Paul, 
Rom.  X.  19,  quoting  these  words,  explains  them.  Israel  has 
provoked  the  jealousy  of  God  by  his  adulterous  service  to  other 
gods :  now  the  offended  Husband  takes  to  Himself  another 
wife  of  less  note,  and  thereby  arouses  on  His  part  the  jealousy 
of  His  former  wife.  These  heathen  "  are  not  a  people  ;"  because 
only  tlie  people  under  the  True,  Eternal,  Almighty  King,  are  in 
full  sense  of  the  word  a  people.  They  are  "  a  foolish  nation  ;" 
since,  while  they  esteemed  themselves  wise,  they  became  fools, 
they  have  given  themselves  up  to  a  foolish  idolatry,  Rom.  i.  22, 
etc.  This  refers  both  to  the  might,  tlie  success,  and  the  triumph 
over  Israel  which  God  grants  to  the  heathen,  and  more  par- 
ticularly to  the  spreading  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  con- 
tracting of  the  covenant  of  grace  with  the  heatlien.  Cf.  the 
jealousy  of  the  Jews,  St  Luke  xv.  28  ;  Acts  xi.  1,  etc.,  ch. 
xiii.  45. 

Ver.  22.  Uyito  the  lowest  hell. — God  will  bring  upon  them 
not  only  temporary,  earthly  punishments,  but  utter  destruc- 
tion. 

Ver.   26.  From  among  men. — The  same  threatenings  which 


574  DEUTERONOMY  XXXII.  27-31. 

had  already  been  nttered  by  Moses,  Lev.  xxvi.  14,  etc. ;  Deut. 
xxvii.  28,  29. 

Ver.  27.  Wrath  of  the  enemy. — The  meaning  of  this  passage, 
in  which  so  strong  a  human  mode  of  expression  is  used,  is  this  : 
The  highest  object  in  the  guidance  of  nations  is  the  honour  of 
God.  Even  in  the  just  punishment  of  His  apostate  children, 
He  takes  care  that  the  ungodly  shall  not  have  occasion  to  boast 
of  His  judgments  as  though  it  were  their  doing.  Cf.  the  similar 
passages,  Exod.  xxxii.  12 ;  more  particularly  Isa.  x.  5-19  ; 
Ezek.  XX.  9,  ch.  xxxvi.  21,  etc. 

Ver.  28.  Understanding  in  them. — Here  the  holy  singer  begins 
to  give  the  reasons  why  such  judgments  befall  Israel :  because 
they  apostatise  to  unbelief  by  reason  of  self-blinding — because 
God  Himself  has  given  them  over — because  it  is  His  purpose 
ever  more  to  sever  His  true  servants  from  the  corrupt  people — 
and  because  the  purpose  of  all  His  providences  is  His  own  glory 
and  the  preservation  of  His  true  people.  Henceforth  it  is  not 
God  but  His  prophet  who  speaks,  in  the  name  of  the  true  people 
of  God  (see  ver.  81).  And  therefore  by  this  change  of  person 
a  resting-point  occurs  here ;  and  so  the  greater  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  connect  ver.  28  too  closely  with  ver.  27,  nor  to  refer 
what  follows  to  the  heathen,  for  in  that  way  the  whole  mean- 
ing and  object  of  the  song  would  be  missed.  The  "  for"  rather 
connects  the  verse  with  the  main  sentence,  ver.  26  :  therefore 
must  God  put  out  the  remembrance  of  them,  because  they, 
through  their  own  sinful  self-blinding,  will  not  take  counsel. 

Ver.  30.  Ten  thousand. — An  allusion  to  the  promises  given, 
Lev.  xxvi.  7,  8  ;  Deut.  xxviii.  7,  25. 

Had  shut  them  up. — This  had  not  been  possible  unless  the 
covenant-God,  who  is  the  foundation  of  their  very  existence,  had 
sold  them  as  something  valueless  to  Himself,  and  had  delivered 
them  over  to  the  enemy. 

Ver.  31.  Bemg  judges. — This  remarkable  passage  points  out 
the  transition  from  the  condition  of  the  old  to  that  of  the  new 
covenant.  Moses  and  all  true  servants  of  God  continued  to  rest 
all  their  hope  and  confidence  on  the  ancient  Rock  of  their  salva- 
tion, and  left  the  apostates  to  choose  another  rock  (ver.  37). 
Henceforth  all  the  promises  of  blessing  and  protection  appertain 
to  the  spiritual  Israel,  which  has  grown  up  as  the  genuine  fruit 
from  the  shell  of  the  old  carnal  Israel.     And  even  the  enemies 


DEUTERONOMY  XXXII.  33-30.  575 

of  the  old  covenant-people  recognise  the  difference  betwixt  the 
superstitious  worship  of  the  disobedient  ancient  people  of  God, 
and  that  of  the  faithful  believing  servants  of  the  Lord.  This 
recognition  will  prove  to  themselves  to  be  the  way  to  their  con- 
version. This  is  a  sublime  view  from  ancient  times  into  the 
most  distant  future  of  the  unsearchable  judgments  and  ways  of 
God. 

Ver.  33.  Venom  of  asj^s. — Their  richest  fruits  are  poisonous. 
The  comparison  with  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  is  repeated  by  the 
prophets  :  Isa.  i.  10,  ch.  iii.  9  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  45,  46  ;  Amos  iv.  11. 

Ver.  35.  Make  haste. — All  these  things  are  long  since  deter- 
mined :  their  coming  is  certain. 

Ver.  36.  Rej^nt  Himself. — Even  among  Ilis  people  will  He 
make  a  great  difference.  He  will  never  give  up  His  true  ser- 
vants for  a  prey  to  the  enemy.  When  the  chaff  is  winnowed 
from  the  wheat,  the  latter  shall  be  brought  into  a  safe  place. 

Ver.  36.  Shut  up  or  left. — Heb.,  "  is  nothing,"  is  annihilated ; 
spoken  proverbially,  as  1  Kings  xiv.  10,  ch.  xxi.  21 ;  2  Kings 
ix.  8  :  as  well  the  shut  up,  defended,  as  "  the  undefended,  aban- 
doned," or  "the  bound  captive,  the  unbound  free;"  i.e.,  all  kinds 
of  men,  all  degrees  and  relations,  are  subject  to  the  general 
calamity. 

Ver.  37.  He  shall  say. — Which  may  mean  "  it  is  said,"  and 
then  would  express  the  scorn  of  the  delivered  over  those  who  have 
fallen  under  punishment  through  their  trust  in  idols.  But  as  a 
little  before  and  afterwards  the  Lord  speaks,  it  is  more  obvious 
to  take  these  words  as  His,  representing  to  the  people  how  they 
are  brought  to  shame  through  their  idols. 

Ver.  38.  Dnnk-offerings. — The  false  gods  enjoyed  the  savour 
of  their  offerings,  and  drank  the  wine  poured  out  to  them;  but 
now  they  show  themselves  so  thankless  in  their  weakness  that 
they  cannot  help  their  worshippers.  A  similar  mockery  on  the 
part  of  the  prophets,  or  of  the  Lord  Himself,  is  often  to  be  met 
with  in  the  O.  T. :  Judges  x.  14 ;  Jer.  ii.  28 ;  Isa.  xli.  22. 

Ver.  39.  Deliver  out  of  Mij  hand. — This  is  the  solemn  confir- 
mation of  what  precedes.  Literally  it  is,  "  See  now  that  I,  I  am 
it."  By  this  express  assurance  He  arouses  the  people  from  their 
dulness,  and  declares  that  all  depends  on  Him.  God  conceals 
Himself  fi'om  the  generality  behind  the  dealings  of  His  provi- 
dence, so  much  so  that  they  can  no  longer  find  Him  or  see  Him. 


57(>  DEUTERONOMY  XXXII.  42,  43. 

To  these  He  appeals,  that  they  may  understand  that  He  is  ever 
the  same,  whether  He  kill  or  make  alive ;  and  then  alone  does 
He  enjoy  His  full  honour  when  His  presence  is  recognised  in  all- 

Ver.  42.  Upon  the  enemy. — After  the  actual  course  of  God's 
judgments  have  been  represented  in  an  historical  form,  at  the  end 
they  are  confirmed  with  an  oath.  The  words,  ver.  40,  "I  lift 
up,"  are  to  be  taken  as  an  act  of  God's  proceeding  through  all 
time,  as  a  prophetic  oath  which  continues  until  the  day  of  its 
accomplishment.  The  words,  "If  I,"  are  to  be  taken  as  the  form 
of  the  oath  ;  for  "  as  truly  as  I  live  I  Avill,"  etc.  Heb. :  "  I  lift 
up  My  hand  to  the  heaven,  and  say,  I  live  for  ever.  I  will  whet 
the  lightning  of  My  sword,  and  will  seize  My  hand  for  judgment ; 
I  will  recompense  revenge  to  My  enemies,  and  will  pay  My 
haters.  I  will  make  My  arrows  drunk  M'ith  blood,  and  My 
sword  shall  eat  flesh,  from  the  blood  of  the  slain  and  the  cap- 
tives, from  the  head  of  the  princes  of  the  enemy."  This  decla- 
ration is  in  striking  contradiction  to  the  idea  of  the  apathy,  indif- 
ference, and  disregard  which  many  ascribe  to  God,  and  shows 
His  holy  zeal,  and  the  reality  of  His  judgments. 

Ver.  43.  Rejoice. — The  words  literally  are,  "  Shout  for  joy,  ye 
nations.  His  people;"  and  might  mean,  "  Ye  heathen,  rejoice  with 
the  people  of  the  Lord,"  or,  "Rejoice,  ye  people,  who  are  now  His 
people."  The  latter  is  the  more  likely  meaning,  as  afterwards 
"  His  people  "  merely  are  addressed.  In  any  case,  it  is  a  call  on 
the  people  of  the  Lord  who  have  emerged  safely  from  His  judg- 
ments to  raise  their  last  triumphal  song.  The  Lord  turns,  as 
the  foregoing  shows  us,  from  His  ancient  people  to  the  heathen. 
Full  of  compassion,  He  draws  forth  His  true  servants  from  the 
mass  of  His  fallen,  chastised  people,  and  shows  Himself  even  by 
these  judgments  as  the  true  God.  By  these  means  the  reception  of 
the  heathen  among  His  people  is  prepared.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  song  the  object  of  all  the  dealings  of  God  is  shown — the 
final  preservation  of  the  true  Israel  and  of  the  heathen  nations 
fi"om  the  destruction  of  the  world. 

To  His  people. — Heb.,  "  and  reconcile  or  atone  for  His  land, 
His  people" — even  by  the  vengeance  on  His  enemies.  The  sins 
of  His  people  and  of  the  land  have  hitherto  called  down  ven- 
geance ;  now  the  Divine  judgments  have  overcome  the  opposi- 
tion which  these  unremitted  sins  raised  against  the  holiness  and 
righteousness  of  God.     Now  all  transgression  is  covered,  and  the 


DEUTERONOMY  XXXTI.  44-52  ;   XXXIII.  577 

Lord  can  again  turn  His  full  grace  to  the  people.  Thus  the 
prophetic  witness,  which  embraces  the  whole  future  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  concludes  with  the  glorification  of  His  deeds  in  tlie 
judgment  and  redemption,  by  which  are  declared  those  Divine 
attributes  spoken  of  at  the  beginning,  ver.  4. 

Ver.  44.  Son  of  Nun. — As  Aaron  had  been  before,  so  was 
Joshua  now,  the  prophet  of  the  aged  man  of  God — of  the  man 
"slow  of  speech,  of  a  slow  tongue."     See  Exod.  iv.  10,  16. 

Ver.  47.  Prolong  your  days. — The  same  promise  wdiich  occurs 
in  the  case  of  many  commandments,  as  Exod.  xx.  12.  It  is  the 
Old  Testament  form  of  all  promises  of  blessing,  the  typical  sha- 
dowing forth  of  the  promise  of  eternal  life. 

Ver.  49.  Against  Jericlio. — Cf.  Num.  xxii.  1,  note. 

Ver.  52.  Before  thee;  i.e.,  opposite  to  thee. 


CHAPTER  XXXHI. 

As  Moses  has  received  notice  of  his  approaching  death,  and  is 
about,  in  compliance  with  the  command  of  the  Lord,  to  ascend 
the  hill  on  which  he  is  to  die,  he  once  more  pronounces  a  bless- 
inn-  upon  the  tribes,  just  as  Jacob,  before  his  death,  assembled 
his  twelve  sons  round  his  bed.  The  blessing  of  Moses  stands  in 
close  connection  with  Jacob's,  partly  supplying  and  softening, 
partly  repeating  and  enlarging  it.  It  is  especially  worthy  of  re- 
mark for  the  understanding  of  the  chapter,  how  Moses  proceeds 
from  the  present  time,  how  the  immediate  view  of  what  either 
has  happened  or  should  happen  forms  the  main  foundation  from 
which  the  promises  soar  upwards.  We  may  well  suppose  that 
this  blessing  was  uttered  in  a  similar  way  with  the  song.  After 
the  severe  witness  borne  against  the  sins  of  the  people,  this  bless- 
ing has  something  soothing  about  it.  Here  the  revelation  of 
God  on  Sinai  appears  majestic  indeed,  but  bringing  salvation, 
and  Israel  is  invited  to  communion  with  Him  by  the  most  glo- 
rious promises  of  blessing.  In  the  predictions  to  the  different 
tribes  there  is  nothing  threatening.  They,  as  well  as  the  whole 
people,  appear  as  what  they  can  and  ought  to  be  according  to 
God's  purpose.     The  people  is  assembled  before  the  ark  of  the 

2  o 


578  DEUTERONOMY  XXXIII.  2,  3. 

covenant.  Joshua  stood  by  the  side  of  tlie  stammering  man  of 
God  as  his  mouthpiece,  and  spake  loud  and  distinctly  the  words 
of  Moses  in  the  presence  of  all,  being  himself  a  participator  in 
the  prophetic  inspiration.  The  blessing  opens,  like  the  song, 
with  an  introduction.  Before  pronouncing  the  blessings  on  the 
individual  tribes,  Moses  mentions  the  great  and  abiding  pi'ivilege 
and  advantage  belonging  to  them  all — the  law  which  the  Lord  had 
given  them  with  mighty  signs.  In  a  similar  tone,  the  blessing 
concludes  (ver.  26)  with  the  promise  of  salvation  to  the  whole 
people. 

Ver.  2.  \Vith  ten  thousands  of  saints. — Heb.,  "  and  is  come 
out  of  the  innumerable  saints;"  lit.,  "the  thousands  (myriads) 
of  holiness."  The  lawgiving  on  Sinai  appears  under  the  figure 
of  a  rising  of  the  sun.  From  the  east,  out  of  Seir,  over  the 
mountains  of  Paran,  from  the  Promised  Land,  comes  the  Lord 
like  the  sun.  He  comes  forth  from  the  assembly  of  His  many 
thousand  saints,  the  angels,  to  give  Israel  its  law.  The  Jews  of 
old  understood  these  words  as  though  the  angels  did  not  remain 
behind  in  heaven,  bu.t  were  really  present  in  all  the  wonders 
which  accompanied  the  giving  of  the  law — the  thunderings,  and 
smoke,  and  earthquake.  Out  of  the  midst  of  this  His  heavenly 
host,  assembled  around  Him,  came  forth  the  Lord  as  Lawgiver. 
And  with  this  agrees  the  representation  given  by  the  apostle,  that 
"  the  law  was  given  by  the  disposition  of  angels  "  (Acts  vii.  53 ; 
Gal.  iii.  19  ;  Heb.  ii.  2)  ; — an  explanation  which  at  all  events  is 
agreeable  to  the  passage  before  us,  and  gains  force  by  the  probable 
explanation  of  what  follows,  though  it  is  not  necessarily  drawn 
from  it. 

A  jiery  law  for  them. — So,  as  it  stands  in  the  text,  many  old 
interpreters  explain  it ;  though  to  be  preferred  is  the  version, 
"  To  His  right  hand  fire  is  hurled  at  them  " — fearful  lightnings, 
to  inspire  them  (the  Israelites)  with  terror.  Here,  as  already  in 
what  precedes,  the  prophet  beholds  the  scene  as  present  in  such 
sort  that  he  says  "  them"  of  the  people,  vrithout  having  before 
named  them. 

Ver.  3.  He  loved  the  people. — Lit.,  "  the  nations ;"  i.e.,  in  this 
place,  the  assembled  tribes  of  Israel,  which  is  explained  by  "  all 
His  saints."  It  was  important  to  declare  first  the  general  love  of 
the  Lord  to  all  His  people,  as  there  is  an  apparent  preference  of 
one  tribe  to  another  in  the  blessino;  which  follows. 


DEUTERONOMY  XXXIII.  i>,  G.  571) 

Are  in  Thj  hand. — The  frequent  change  of  person,  and  imme- 
diately afterwards  of  number,  is  very  remarkable  in  prophetic 
language.  Moses  has  just  spoken  of  the  Lord  :  in  the  midst  of 
the  sentence,  "  His  saints,"  he  turns  round  and  addresses  the 
Lord,  "  are  in  T/n/  hand."  This  mode  of  speaking  of  holy  ins[)i- 
ration  supplies  a  pliable  instrument  for  expressing  every  emotion 
and  feeling. 

Of  Thy  icords. — In  all  this  the  graphic  image  of  the  law- 
giving on  Mount  Sinai,  begun  at  ver.  2,  is  continued.  Even  in 
the  fearful  apparition  of  His  majesty  was  the  giving  of  the  law  a 
revelation  of  Ilis  love.  He  embraced  all  tribes  of  the  people, — all 
wdiom  He  had  sanctified  He  covered  amid  the  signs  and  won- 
ders with  the  protection  of  His  hand,  and  placed  them  in  quiet 
at  His  feet  to  learn  from  Him. 

Ver.  5.  Were  fjatherexl  together. — Suddenly  the  address  changes 
into  that  of  the  people  who  hear  and  learn.  As  a  narrative,  it 
would  be  remarkable  that  ISIoses  should  speak  thus  in  his  own 
blessing.  But  it  is  altogether  in  agreement  with  the  spirit  of 
prophetic  language,  which  delights  in  sudden,  rapid  transitions, 
thiis  to  put  itself  in  the  position  of  the  people  receiving  the  law ; 
somewhat  as  if  it  -were  said,  "  Then  Moses  gave  us  the  law  (in 
Thy  name),  the  inheritance  of  the  congregation  of  Jacob."  The 
law  is  also  called  "my  heritage"  in  Ps.  cxix.  111.  Immedi- 
ately upon  this,  God  is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person :  literally, 
"  And  He  was  King  in  Jeshurun,  when  the  heads  of  the  people 
were  assembled,  the  tribes  of  Israel  with  one  another."  It  is 
very  significant  that  the  people  here  bears  the  name  "Jeshurun:" 
of.  ch.  xxxii.  15,  note.  The  King  here  is  God,  in  whose  name 
Moses  gave  the  law.  The  day  when  the  Lord,  by  the  solemn 
giving  of  the  law,  formed  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  be  His  people, 
Avas  the  moment  of  His  assuming  His  kingly  office. 

Ver.  6.  Reuben  live. — Lit. :  "Let  Reuben  live,  and  not  die;  he 
and  his  people  be  a  number;" — i.e.,  this  tribe  shall  not  perish; 
those  of  his  tribe  shall  not  be  able  to  be  counted,  i.e.,  shall  be 
not  a  few.  In  the  blessing  of  Jacob,  Reuben  is  deprived  of  the 
dignity  of  his  being  the  first-born.  Here  continuance  and  num- 
bers are  promised  him,  to  his  comfort.  This  tribe  extended  a 
long  way  in  the  south  of  the  eastern  side  of  Jordan,  as  far  as 
the  mouths  of  the  Euphrates. — Simeon  is  not  here  mentioned 
(cf.  Gen.  xlix.  5).     The  tribe  was  not  to  have  any  independence, 


580  DEUTERONOMY  XXXIII.  7,  10. 

but  to  dwell  scattered  among  the  others.  But  the  curse  is  not 
here  repeated,  but  rather  softened  by  his  being  passed  over  in 
silence. 

Ver.  7.  Bring  liim  unto  Ids  people. — Judah  was  the  leading 
tribe,  out  of  which  the  kings  were  ordained  to  proceed  (Gen.  xlix. 
8,  etc. ;  Num.  ii.  3  ;  Judges  i.  2).  Moses  in  spirit  sees  him 
march  before  the  other  tribes  to  the  holy  war,  and  prays  the 
Lord  to  grant  him  victory,  and  a  happy  return  to  his  people. 

From  his  enemies. — Lit. :  "  His  hands  fight  for  him,  and  Thou 
wilt  be  a  helj)  from  his  enemies."  It  is  the  most  warlike  tribe, 
to  Avhich  the  Lord  grants  victorious  strength  and  defence  in  its 
time  of  trial. 

Ver.  10.  Uj)on  Thine  altar. — The  blessing  upon  Levi  removes 
the  curse  which  Jacob  had  uttered  concerning  him.  Gen.  xlix. 
7 ;  and,  indeed,  everything  here  is  viewed  as  centering  in  the 
priesthood  and  its  head,  Aaron.  The  language  here  is  very  bold 
and  powerful.  The  address  is  to  Jehovah,  and  therefore  the 
words  "  of  Levi "  are  to  be  taken  in  a  wider  sense,  "  in  respect 
of  Levi."  Literally  :  "  Thy  right  and  thy  light  (the  highest 
marks  of  the  priesthood,  the  pledges  of  blessing  [Exod.  xxviii. 
30])  to  thy  pious  one  (to  him  dedicated  to  Thee  in  holiness), 
whom  Thou  hast  tried  at  Massa,  with  whom  Thou  didst  strive  at 
Meribah."  Moses  prays  that  the  Lord  would  support  the  high- 
priestly  dignity  with  the  pledge  of  Divine  illumination  to  the 
tribe,  and  therefore  to  the  people.  This  dignity  appears  to  him 
as  embodied  in  the  person  of  Aaron.  He  speaks  of  the  danger- 
ous time  which  befell  to  him  in  the  temptation  at  Massa  and 
Meribah  (Exod.  xvii.  7),  and  he  calls  this  a  trial  of  Aaron  by 
God,  a  proof  to  which  the  Lord  put  him.  The  mention  of  it, 
therefore,  on  this  occasion  will  mean — "  Acknowledge  as  Thine 
own,  still  further,  and  continually,  the  consecrated  person  whom 
Thou  hast  proved  by  so  severe  temptations." — The  address  still 
continues  to  refer  to  Aaron,  and  is  literally,  "  Who  (namely,  the 
man  consecrated  to  Thee  [ver.  8])  speaks  to  his  father  and  his 
mother,  I  see  him  not !  and  beholds  not  his  brother,  and  knows 
not  his  son."  Aaron,  and  in  him  the  priesthood,  appears  here  as 
the  representative  of  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi,  since  to  it  is 
ascribed  what  the  Levites  did  in  the  case  of  the  people's  apos- 
tasy to  idolatry  (Exod.  xxxii.  26-28),  when  they  themselves 
spared  not  their  nearest  kinsmen,  when  they  were  taken  in  the 


DEUTERONOMY  XXXIII.  11-16.  581 

act  of  idolatry.  This  is  the  denying  of  fiither  and  mother, 
brother  and  sister,  which  the  Lord  requires  of  Ilis  disciples  (St 
Matt.  X.  37).— The  sacred  writer  proceeds  to  speak  of  the  priest- 
hood in  general,  and  thereby  explains  the  preceding.  "  Since 
they  hold  Thy  words,  and  keep  Thy  covenant,  they  teach  Jacob 
Thy  precepts,  and  Israel  Thy  laws;  they  put  incense  before 
Thee,  and  whole  sacrifices  on  Thy  altar."  They  spread  the 
knowledge  of  Thy  will,  and  reconcile  Thy  people  to  Thee.  The 
sense  of  the  whole  is,  "Preserve  to  Levi  the  pledge  of  Thy 
revelation  and  guidance,  since  this  tribe  keeps  Thy  word,  spreads 
the  knowledge  of  Thee  abroad,  and  preserves  Thy  favour  to  Thy 
people." 

Ver.  IL  Rise  not  arjam. — A  notification  (many  similar  ones 
are  given,  especially  in  this  book  [ch.  xiv.  27,  29,  ch.  xvi.  11, 
14,  ch.  xxvi.  12])  that  the  Levites  would  often  have  much  diffi- 
culty with  this  perverse  and  capricious  people,  who  in  the  times 
of  their  apostasy  refused  the  Levites  their  due. 

Ver.  12.  Shall  dioell  in  safety.— h\i. :  "  The  beloved  of  the 
Lord  shall  dwell  safely  on  Him," — i.e.,  on  the  Lord,  as  the  rock 
on  which  he  is  built.  The  most  beloved  son  of  Jacob  will  stand 
in  closest  communion  with  the  Lord,  on  whom  his  own  being 
rests. 

Betiveen  His  shoulders. — "He  (the  Lord)  holds  over  him 
(covers  him)  the  whole  day,  and  he  dwells  between  His  shoul- 
ders." He  defends  him,  and  dwells  near  him.  The  shoulders  are 
the  mountain  heights  of  his  country.  The  temple  was  in  after- 
times  built  on  Moria.  the  higher  peaks  of  Sion,  and  the  ^Mount  of 
Olives,  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  The  brief  expressions  of  Jacob 
(Gen.  xlix.  27)  concerning  Benjamin,  which  promised  no  peculiar 
blessings,  are  here  supplied. 

Ver.  IG.  Separated  from  his  brethren. — A  repetition  and  more 
extended  description  of  the  blessing  of  Jacob  on  Joseph  (Gen. 
xlix.  22),  from  whom  not  only  two  tribes  were  derived,  but  those 
more  particularly  powerful  and  extensive,  and  dwelling  in  the 
most  fruitful  parts  of  Canaan.  This  passage  literally  is  thus : 
"  Blessed  from  the  Lord  is  his  land" — now  follow  the  particular 
]iarts  of  this  blessing — "  with  the  most  precious  things  of  heaven, 
with  the  dew  and  with  the  deep  which  lies  beneath  (i.e.,  the 
waters  under  the  earth  from  which  the  springs  flow),  and  with 
the  most  precious  things  of  the  productions  of  the  sun,  and  the 


582  DEUTERONOMY  XXXIII.  17-21. 

most  precious  of  the  fruits  of  the  moon  (the  fruits  which  every 
month  brings  forth),  and  with  the  top  of  the  mountains  of  ancient 
times,  and  with  the  precious  things  of  the  everlasting  hills,  and 
with  the  precious  things  of  the  earth  and  its  fulness ;  and  the 
goodwill  of  Him  who  dwells  in  the  bush,  let  it  come  on  the  head 
of  Joseph,  and  the  shoulders  of  the  Nasir  of  his  brethren." 

Ver.  17.  Thousands  of  Manasseli. — "The  glory  of  a  first-born 
bull  (strength,  power)  is  to  him,  and  buffalo-horns  are  his  horns  : 
\nt\\  them  he  strikes  the  people  together  even  to  the  end  of  the 
land." — As  before  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi  had  been  represented 
by  Aaron,  so  here  the  whole  tribe  of  Joseph  by  Joshua  the 
Ephraimite,  the  conqueror  of  the  Promised  Land,  who  is  without 
doubt  the  main  subject  of  this  promise. 

Ver.  18.  In  thy  tents. — A  short  forcible  reiteration  of  the 
promises  of  Jacob  made  to  the  tribes  delighting  in  trade  and 
in  agriculture  (Gen.  xlix.  13-15). 

Ver.  19.  Treasures  hid  in  the  sand. — Here  is  depicted  the 
wealth  which  these  tribes  shall  obtain  by  trading.  The  most 
costly  sacrifices  for  the  holy  mountain  will  proceed  from  this 
tribe  :  the  people,  i.e.,  the  tribes  of  Israel,  will  take  care  to  pro- 
vide them,  and  so  serve  God  acceptably.  Perhaps  there  is  an  inti- 
mation that  great  riches  flowed  to  Jerusalem  from  the  Israelites 
dispersed  in  neighbouring  countries,  and  that  also,  in  spiritual 
things,  through  them  the  good  things  of  other  people  were  im- 
parted to  Israel. 

Ver.  20.  Enlargeth  Gad. — Gives  him  the  beautiful  land  of 
Gilead  for  a  possession.  Crown  of  the  head  and  the  arm,  as  the 
chief  parts,  signify  the  might  of  his  conquests. 

Ver.  21.  His  judgments  ivith  Israel. — Heb. :  "  And  he  pro- 
vided for  him  the  first-fruits,  since  there  is  the  inheritance  of  the 
hidden  Lawgiver  :  and  he  came  to  the  heads  of  the  people  ;  he 
executes  the  righteousness  of  the  Lord  and  His  judgments  with 
Israel."  Gad,  with  the  tribe  and  a  half,  chose  for  himself  first  the 
beautiful  land  on  the  other  side  Jordan,  which  was  distinguished 
as  the  portion  of  the  master  or  lawgiver  in  Israel,  Moses,  who  was 
there  buried  in  profound  secrecy.  This  circumstance,  which 
could  not  enter  into  the  mind  of  Gad  when  it  requested  that 
land,  Moses  now  includes  in  the  blessing,  as  though  an  especial 
mark  of  God's  goodwill  towards  the  tribe.  At  the  conclusion 
Gad's  open  way  of  treating  with  the  chiefs  for  the  land,  and  his 


DEUTEKOXOXY  XXXIII.  22-29.  583 

honourable  keeping  of  liis  word  to  lielp  Israel  in  the  conquest 
of  Canaan,  are  brought  forward. 

Ver.  22.  Leaj:>  fwni  Basan. — Like  a  bold  and  wild  lion 
springing  forth  from  the  land  of  Basan,  with  its  woods  and  rich 
meadows,  shall  this  tribe  go  forth  to  its  valiant  exploits. 

Ver.  23.  The  west  and  the  south. — These  obscure  words  are 
explained  by  some  to  mean,  that  Naphthali  dwelt  in  the  south 
and  west  of  the  new  settlements  which  Dan  conquered  in  the 
time  of  the  Judges  in  the  north  of  Canaan  (Judges  xviii.)  ;  by 
others,  that  the  land  of  the  Philistines  in  the  south-west  of 
Palestine  was  intended  for  this  tribe,  which,  however,  was  never 
conquered  :  Joshua  xiii.  3. 

Ver.  24.  Dij)  his  foot  in  oil. — Be  rich  in  posterity  and  pos- 
sessions :  cf.  Gen.  xlix.  20. 

Ver.  25.  So  shall  tliy  strength  he. — Heb. :  "  Iron  and  brass 
be  thy  bars,  and  as  thy  days  so  be  thy  rest."  Outward  security 
and  enduring  rest  are  promised  to  this  tribe. 

Ver.  26.  On  the  shy. — With  these  concluding  words,  ]\Ioses 
again  turns  to  the  whole  people.  Lit. :  "  There  is  none  like 
God,  O  Jeshurun  (see  ver.  5),  Avho  rideth  through  the  heavens  to 
thy  help,  and  in  His  majesty  through  the  clouds." 

Ver.  27.  Everlasting  arms. — The  first  words  remind  us  of 
the  beginning  of  Psalm  xc.  The  "  ancient  God  "  is  He  who  is 
from  everlasting,  always  the  same  ;  the  eternal  arms  are  they 
which  are  never  weary  of  holding  and  supporting. 

Ver.  28.  Cor7i  and  loine. — Heb. :  "  Israel  shall  dwell  securely, 
the  fountain  of  Jacob,  in  the  land  of  corn  and  new  wine."  The 
fountain  of  Jacob  is  the  inexhaustible  stream  of  the  people  which 
flows  from  him — an  epithet  full  of  promise  to  Israel. 

Drojy  down  dcic. — Not  needing  perpetual  irrigation  like 
Egypt :  ch.  xi.  10. 

Ver.  29.  Saved  by  the  Lord. — To  whom  the  Lord  is  a  con- 
tinual helper  and  defender. 

Thy  excellency. — Properly,  "  thy  exaltation,"  thy  fame,  thy 
triumph.  He,  as  thy  sword,  continually  gains  for  thee  new 
triumphs. 

Found  liars. — \Yill  cringe  before  thee  out  of  fear,  as  Ps.  xviii. 
45,  Ixvi.  3,  Ixxxi.  IG. 

Uigh  places. — "  Thou  wilt  take  in  possession  and  tread  down 
even  their  highest  mountains."     With  this  promise  of  the  unpa- 


584  DEUTERONOMY  XXXIV.  1-6. 

ralleled  friendship,  the  continual  shelter,  the  unceasing  stream  of 
wealth,  the  defence  of  God,  the  final  triumph  over  all  enemies, 
does  Moses  conclude  his  blessing.  This  blessing  will  only  be 
rightly  understood  by  connecting  it  with  the  foregoing  prophetic 
song ;  and  we  draw  the  conclusion,  that  the  people  of  Israel, 
which  has  these  eternal  promises,  is  the  new  covenant-people 
which  comes  forth  from  the  old. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

It  has  been  already  remarked  that  this  chapter,  together  with 
the  song  and  blessing,  as  the  book  itself  clearly  intimates,  was 
added  to  the  rest,  most  probably  by  Joshua  in  his  old  age. 
Moses  took  his  last  farewell  of  him,  communicated  to  him  God's 
call  to  him  to  die,  and  the  promise  of  his  burial.  From  this 
communication  is  the  narrative  before  us  drawn. 

Ver.  1.  Against  Jericho. — It  has  been  already  remarked, 
Num.  xxi.,  that  the  mountain  district  of  Jericho  has  not  been 
investigated  in  modern  times.  We  only  know  this  one  thing, 
that  the  heights  there  are  very  considerable,  and  afford  a  wide 
prospect  on  every  side.  But  at  the  same  time  we  must  suppose 
a  supernatural  extension  of  vision,  so  that  a  view  is  laid  before 
him,  in  which  the  natural  eyesight  is  assisted  by  something 
beyond  nature. 

Unto  Dan. — Cf.  Gen.  xiv.  14,  note. 

Ver.  3.  Uiito  Zoar. — All  the  places  here  bear  the  names 
which  they  had  after  the  division  by  Joshua,  and"  not  without  a 
significance,  because  with  this  destination  they  had  already  been 
shown  to  Moses. 

Ver.  5.  Wo7'd  of  the  Lord. — Lit. :  "  On  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord,"  which  word  often  means  the  same  as  "  at  His  command  :" 
Gen.  xlv.  21.  The  Eabbins  pretend  from  this  that  he  died  by  a 
kiss  of  the  Lord,  and  this  was  the  easiest  kind  of  death. 

Ver.  6.  Unto  this  day. — Although  Moses  really  died,  and,  in- 
deed— as  he  might  have  lived  still  longer  (ver.  7) — underwent 
death  as  a  punishment,  for  a  memorable  example  of  the  holy 
severity  of  God  against  sin  even  in  His  faithful  servant, — still 


DEUTERONOMY  XXXIV.  8,  12.  585 

was  lie  after  his  death  to  be  held  in  especial  honour,  as  no  other 
man  has  been  honoured.  Moses'  death  was  similar  to  Aaron's 
(Num.  XX.  23),  but  distinguished  by  the  mysterious  burial,  the 
mark  of  the  all-forgiving  grace  of  God  towards  His  severely 
chastised  servant ; — hence  the  narrative  Jude  9.  The  ancient 
Cln-istians  saw  in  this  burial  a  representation  of  the  burial  of  the 
law  through  Christ,  and  of  the  utter  absence  of  all  signs  of  its 
working.  As  a  distinguishing  memorial  of  this  last  crowning 
act  of  God,  the  grave  of  Moses  could  nowhere  be  found — per- 
haps also  to  prevent  any  superstitious  honour  being  paid  to  it. 

Ver.  8.   Were  ended.— C^.  Num.  xx.  29. 

Ver.  12.  In  the  sight  of  all  Israel. — These  words  might  well 
be  annexed  to  this  book  by  Joshua  at  the  conclusion  of  his  own 
life,  in  which  he  at  the  same  time  confessed  his  own  inferiority 
to  Moses.  Moses  was  the  greatest  servant  of  the  Lord  in  the 
O.  T.,  both  in  respect  to  his  nearer  intercourse  w^ith  the  Lord,  to 
his  clear  and  comprehensive  revelation,  and  the  greatness  of  the 
acts  performed  by  him.  The  Founder  of  the  new  and  eternal 
covenant  (of  whom  Moses  was  a  type)  is  alone  worthy  of  greater 
honour  than  he  :  Heb.  iii.  3. 


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Date  Due 

L  . 

-\"^r    \ 

1 

1 

NO  3-'4h 

f) 

BS1225.G371 

Commentary  on  the  Pentateuch 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00039  0239 


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